Darkness Descends
by ElevenTheEggo
Summary: Clary Fray is alone. Her dad beats her up, she's bullied at school, and her mother and brother left when she was 6. But what will she do when someone tries to come back into her life? Will she push them away or let them in? (A/U, all characters belong to Cassandra Clare.)
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! So, hear me out. I wanted to see if ya'll liked this new idea I had, and I really wanted to get it out of my system, so let me know if you like this and I'll keep adding more content!**

 **Also, I know, I know. There's a ton of fanfics about Clary getting abused and stuff. There's also ones about her getting abused AND bullied.  
**

 **Don't make assumptions about this fanfic, and give this one a chance. I promise it'll get better as you keep reading.**

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Sometimes, there are people who live good, happy lives. Then there are other, who have shit home lives.

Clary was one of those "shit home lives" people.

Clarissa Fray was abused. It started when she was 6. Her father, Valentine, beat her up, and raped her, claiming she drove her mom and brother away. Her mother, Jocelyn, left with her brother Jonathan 10 years ago. she didn't remember them anymore, but she hated them both for leaving her. They were the sole reason she was being treated like shit.

She was mercilessly bullied at school by Jace Lightwood and his posse. Her ex best friend, Simon, confessed his loved to her four years ago, and when she had rejected him kindly, he couldn't take it. So he joined Jace. She told Simon about her abusive father, and after she rejected him, he threw away her trust and told everyone her secret.

When Valentine found out that there were rumors about him, she received the worst beating ever.

That day was when she stopped giving her trust away. She made sure that the people who had her trust were worthy of it.

Her father never gave her food, hell, he couldn't afford it. She cleaned the house, cooked, washed the clothes, and did everything to make sure the house was clean.

She was independent, and she was selfless. She always stood up when others got bullied, no matter how much verbal abuse she would suffer afterwards.

Sometimes, things would never change. She learned to accept it. She believed her life was short, that she wouldn't live till her 18th birthday. That was her ticket out. Becoming an adult. She wanted to pull through so bad, but sometimes, she figured dying was the best option. But she never succumbed, because she knew suicide would make her a coward.

When Jocelyn and Jonathan left, Clary found a stash of money hidden within a cabinet. The amount totaled to $500. Whether it was left their purposely by her mother or not, she took it gratefully. And from then on, Clary had saved up money, slowly and painstakingly. She made sure it was kept in the safest place possible, a floorboard beneath her bed. Her bed was bolted to the floor, and she was the only person who could crawl under there.

Whether she knew it or not, everyone in her school, except the bullies, were comforted by her presence. She helped all of them in ways she would never understand. She talked a girl out of killing herself, she helped many come out as gay. Hell, one of the boys she helped come out was Alec Lightwood, Jace's adoptive brother, but even then Alec never stood up for her, and he never thanked her.

Teachers loved her as well. She once saved the art program by selling dozens of her artwork to curious buyers.

If someone had walked up to a random student, and asked them who they trusted, the majority would say Clary Fray.

It was sad, she never would know how many people would cry, how many people would blame themselves after the accident.

* * *

"C'mon, get up." willed Clary's conscience.

The night before, Valentine not only raped her, but beat her until she was unconscious. He was never gentle, and he always made sure she was in pain, and lots of it. She woke up in a pool of her own blood, and wordlessly dragged herself off to take a shower ignoring how painful it was to get up or do anything.

With a sigh, she went to her room, and locked the door, She went to her bathroom, and took off her tattered pjs. Clary turned the shower knob to her liking, and stood in the hot water, letting it ease her pain. This was the one of the few times she was genuinely at ease.

She stepped out the shower at looked at herself in the mirror, instantly disgusted. She was pale, and far, far to skinny. Her ribs were prominent, but she never had a choice. She wanted so badly to eat, but she had to save up. That and Valentine refused to feed her.

She winced at what she saw. Her entire body was covered in bruises, cuts, and burns. Her father was always very careful; he never hit her face in fear of being caught. He made sure to hit her above her elbows, but sometimes, in his drunken stupor, he would slip up. She saw the bruises on her forearms, and luckily they were light.

She looked at the side her stomach, and felt her eyes prick with tears. When Valentine had first started hurting her, she was only 7.

She reached into the medicine cabinet and grabbed some painkillers. That was the only way she could survive at school without doubling over in pain.

She put on a bra and panties, and walked out to decide what to wear. Her closet was limited, and she didn't exactly have the money to buy nice clothes.

She threw on her black skinny jeans, and a grey t-shirt. Last night was one of the nights where Valentine had not been careful. She threw on a grey hoodie, and slipped her feet into her faded converse. She went back into the bathroom to check if there were any bruises, and found there was one small bruise on her cheekbone. She hastily covered it up and on the way out the door, she grabbed her messenger bag, and went downstairs.

Valentine was passed out on the couch. She quickly pulled out his breakfast from the fridge, and placed it in the microwave. She always maade it the night before, because she knew she wouldn't have enough energy to make it in the morning. After she made sure the kitched was clean of empty beer cans, she left knowing she wouldn't be getting her usual morning beating.

Today was her first day of her junior year in high school. Just a little more waiting, and she could be free.

She hopped onto her bike, trying her best not to cry out in pain. When she was a freshman, she had discovered a secret route to Alicante High. Nobody used it, and she was glad.

With a deep breath, she willed herself to start pedaling.

Today was going to be a horrible day, as every day was.

* * *

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	2. Chapter 2

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Once Clary had reached school, she locked her bike and headed to the office to get her schedule. She didn't notice how many of the students noticed her and smiled, remembering how she had helped them. She reached the office, and stepped inside. To her dismay, the popular bitches were there, and as soon as she entered their eyes landed on her.

She did what she had done for the past 5 years: she ignored their eyes, which were probably burning in disgust from seeing her. She didn't know that many of them secretly regretted being horrible to her.

The group consisted of Jace Lightwood, his adoptive sister Isabelle, his adoptive brother Alec. Simon was dating Isabelle, and it was clear to Clary that Simon moved on. Seelie and Aline were all over Jace, and he alternated between them both every week. Then there was Sebastian. He was a pedophile, and she always stayed clear from him. Finally, there was Jordan and Maia. They were by far the kindest of the lot, but even then, they would still bully Clary.

She walked up to the secretary, Amatis. Amatis was kind, and she loved Clary. Clary had helped her deal with the loss of her husband. To that, Amatis was forever grateful.

Once Amatis saw Clary, she stood up, beaming. 'Clary! Darling, I missed you!"

Clary smiled, and walked over to her, wincing as Amatis hugged her bruised ribs a little to hard.

After some small talk, Clary took her schedule and the lock to her locker, and walked outside, ignoring the looks she got from the bullies.

As soon as she was outside, the bitches followed her.

"Well, well, well," started Jace. "Looks like Freaky Fray's back. Did your daddy hit you last night, like he does every night?"

He made it seem like a joke, and Clary wondered how anybody could be so cruel.

"What're you gonna do, cry about it?" mocked Isabelle.

She looked down at her schedule, and saw her first class was English. She turned her back to the group, and limped to her class. Within seconds she found herself on the floor, with everyone laughing at her, except Alec and Maia. She knew someone tripped her.

"Here, take my hand." urged someone. her brain was muddled, and she couldn't figure out who it was, but blindly took their hand, and held in a gasp when she saw the person's face.

Magnus Bane. She thought he was dating Alec, since she had helped Magnus gain confidence in confessing his feelings to him. Magnus pulled her up, and stepped in front of her.

"Alexander," he snarled. "After everything she's done for you, you're still a bitch. I'm disappointed in you, and especially you Simon. Rot in hell fuckers, because that's what you deserve."

He turned away from them, and gently took Clary's hand, After they disappeared around the corner, he smiled at her and left without a word.

Clary took a second to compose herself, and went to her classroom. She saw her teacher, Mr. Starkweather, and he smiled at her kindly. She helped many teachers, and he was one on the list. She would always help tidy up the room, and he in turn helped her become a better writer. She was right on time, and she found an empty seat in back. She looked up and saw the rest of her classmates slowly trickle in, and to her dismay, Simon and Jace were in her class. When Jace saw her, he made his way to the sit beside her, but at the last second, somebody had occupied the seat.

Clary turned to see Simon in the seat beside her. Jace took the seat in front of her, and Clary scooted her desk back as far a she could, trying to get away from the two.

She didn't bother looking at them, knowing Jace would just mock her and Simon would join in.

"Alright, settle down guys." announced Mr. Starkweather. He then dove into a tedious speech, talking about the curriculum that year. Clary was attentive, and took notes about the novels they would be reading, reminding herself to go to the library and get the books so she could get a head start.

Class ended quickly, and she felt someone grab her arm as she attempted to get up. She looked up and saw Simon.

"Clary," he begged. "Can we talk?"

She ripped his hand off of hers, and didn't hesitate when answering him. "No," she said. "As a matter of fact, NEVER."

Simon winced at the harshness in her voice, and Clary walked away.

* * *

Clary went to her new locker, and snapped the lock onto it. As she clicked her lock shut, Simon came up to her, yet again.

"Clary," he asked desperately. "Please, I-I'm sorry. Look, I shouldn't hav-"

He was cut off by Isabelle, who spotted them across the hall. "Clary, you slut! What are you doing with my boyfriend!" she yelled.

Isabelle walked up to Clary, and recited things Clary already knew about herself. How ugly she was, how she was a whore, a slut, a good for nothing. How she was a waste of oxygen, and the entire hallway went silent, waiting for Clary's reply. Even though she would stand up for her peers, they never did for her.

"I know," Clary said softly, her voice devoid of emotions. To her surprise, Simon quieted Isabelle, and she huffed at Clary angrily before dragging Simon away.

* * *

The day was uneventful, and she was upset that she had at least two or more people from the bitch squad in her classes. Luckily, the hallway was empty, and she loved the quietness. She walked to her locker, dumping the textbooks she had received. As soon as she opened it, a letter floated out. She opened it carefully, and read the letter.

 _You're such a bitch. Kys. Nobody wants you here, nor will they ever want you here. Slut. Bitch. Whore. Prostitute. Gtfo, and stay the fuck away from Simon. He doesn't care about you. - Us_

Her eyes teared up, and the words clawed themselves into her heart. She heard a flash, and saw the squaad walk towards her, laughing.

"Awww, don't cry baby." grinned Sebastian.

Clary wiped at her face, and looked up to see they were closer to her now. They all seemed to be laughing at her.

"What're you gonna do huh?" chuckled Jace. "Run to daddy? Oh wait! He abuses you right?"

Clary slunk down, and cried. She didn't care if they saw. Her body was wracked with silent sobs, and she heard someone yelling at everyone to leave.

She looked up and was faced with Alec.

"Clary," he said slowly. "I-I don't know what t-"

Clary didn't bother listening, she limped out of the hallway as quickly as she could. She unlocked her bike, and wiped her face. She turned around and saw Jace's car pull out, and the windows were rolled down. Jace, Isabelle, and Sebastian laughed, while Jordan and Maia grinned at her maniacally.

She pedaled as fast as she could, wishing her life could be better.

* * *

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	3. Chapter 3

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Clary blindly pedaled down her secret path, tears streaming down her face. She couldn't take it anymore. Nobody liked her, cared about her, or wanted her there.

Everyone had taken advantage of her. She helped so many students and teachers, and they gave her a measly thank you in return.

Sometimes, people start appreciating you more after you're gone.

Clary stopped at the side of the path, and wiped her eyes. She calmed herself down, and hopped back on her bike. Just as she was about to get on her bike, she heard a car behind her.

"Clary! Wait up!" yelled Simon.

She turned around, and saw Simon's old truck pulling up behind her. She stood frozen in place, fearing that Simon would hurt her. In a blink of an eye, he was in front of her, too close for comfort. Clary took three steps back, and Simon was wise enough to stay where he was.

"Clary," he said, breathlessly. "Look. There's no excuse for my actions. I was a horrible friend, and I know you hate me. But please, let me just, explain. I was angry. Really angry. You were so nice about everything, telling me you only saw me as a brother. I couldn't handle rejection. For some reason, Jace hated you, and he gave me $150 for selling one of your secrets to him. I only told him Valentine abused you, nothing else I swear. I-"

Clary cut him off by slapping him, hard. She was seething in anger.

"What makes you think that this stupid shit of an apology will make things better?" she yelled. "The day you told him was the day I stopped trusting ANYBODY. If it wasn't clear then, I'll make it clear now. Because of you, my already shitty life became ten times worse. Leave me the fuck alone!"

Simon hung his head in shame, cradling his cheek. Clary hopped onto her bike and pedaled away.

What gave him the right to come back to her? The one thing she couldn't let anyone find out about, and Simon told Jace. With a sigh, she focused on the path, oblivious to the fact that someone was following her.

* * *

When Clary reached her house, she was relieved that Valentine wasn't home. He didn't come home till 9, not because of his job. Hell, he didn't have a job. Instead, he used Clary's hard earned money to drink.

Clary had three jobs.

Her first job was the auto shop. Sometimes she would be asked to paint designs onto vehicles, other times she would be cleaning the shop up. The only reason she did it was for the car.

When she applied for the job, she saw a somewhat old, rusty car near the side of the shop. Clary learned that they bought the car, and were waiting for someone to buy it. She knew this had to be her car. If she turned 18, she had to be able to get far away from Valentine, far away from everyone. She needed a fresh start.

So, Clary made a deal with the owner. If she did whatever they wanted, they would give her the car, all fixed up, for free when she was 18. This meant even if they called her at 2 in the morning to paint a design, she would have to do it.

But nobody in their right mind would give her a car free of charge. Even though she felt guilty about doing it, she used the "my mom and brother abandoned me with a drunk dad" card on them. The owner pitied her, and accepted her offer.

Her second job was at a small, but popular bookshop. The owner, Luke, was kind, and apparently, he knew Jocelyn. In her eyes, Luke was her father, because he helped her through hard times. He knew Valentine was a bad man, and he never said a word when she ran into his arms, bleeding everywhere. He would wordlessly give her ointments and bandages to heal her.

He supported her in every way, fed her what little food he had, and loved her as a father would love a daughter. She had told him her plan of leaving when she was 18, and he was happy for her.

Her final job, the worst of them all, was at a diner, _Taki's._ She hated working there because Jace and his gang would come there every day to eat something.

They would mock her, and make her do their bidding, ni matter how stupid it was. The owner of Taki's hated them just as much as Clary did, and had half the mind to kick them out. But, she would never do that, because they were the highest paying customers.

She walked up to her room, and checked the time. 3:35. Good.

Clary had to work all three jobs every night, and her first shift started at 4:30. She needed to make dinner, clean the house, and shower. Great.

* * *

When it was 4:15, Clary left the house wearing exactly what she wore to school, except she changed into her work shirt, which was all black except it said _Taki's_ in bold, red letters on the front.

She ditched her hoodie and opted for a black jacket. She pulled her bike out, which she repainted black every month. It took her twenty minutes to get to Taki's, which meant she had five minutes to spare.

She went though the back door, and entered the main office. She went to her time slot, filled her name out, and picked up her order pad. She quickly walked through the double doors leading out of the kitchen, and was surprised to see that the restaurant wasn't as crowed as it usually was.

"Clary!" yelled Kaelie, her co-worker. "Finally, you're here! I need a break. Take over for me for a bit will ya?"

In all honesty, Clary hated Kaelie because she was a bitch with a capital B. Kaelie went to the same school as Clary, and had given up on bullying her. She made Clary do almost all the work while she would be flirting with random customers.

With a sigh, she started her hour and a half long shift.

* * *

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	4. Chapter 4

**Thank for the reviews guys!**

* * *

"Why would anyone want _her_ to work at this place!" squeaked Aline, her voice lined with malice.

Clary turned around wearily, and wasn't surprised to see the bitch squad. Clary was surprised to see Simon, Alec and Jace missing. Strange.

She walked over to their table, and handed them their menus.

"What can I get for you guys today?" Clary asked, her voice showing forced happiness. She then grabbed her order pad and her pen, ready to jot down their orders.

"How about, some _ginger_ ale?" snickered Sebastian. **(A/N: yes the insults are corny as fuck deal with it LMAO)**

"Ya, and maybe some _red velvet cake_?" mocked Isabelle.

Maia and Jordan were silent, which made Clary feel uneasy. Yes, they normally didn't take part in taunting her, but they just seemed..off. She jotted down the orders quickly, and she wanted to get over with this quickly.

"Anything else?" Clary asked, her voice still holding on to the fake cheeriness.

"Yes!" piped up Seelie. "How about a new waitress? You know, one that isn't so ugly you want to hurl?"

Clary looked down at the order pad, and for some reason, Seelie's insult made her feel more angry than usual. She glared at her order pad, aware that the squad, except Maia, was laughing at her.

"Run along now," cooed Aline. "Go get the food doggie!"

Clary stumbled to the next table, got their orders, and went to the kitchen to tell the chef.

This was going to be a long, long night.

* * *

When her shift at Taki's finished, she biked to Luke's bookshop. Once she stepped inside, she found it had far more customers than usual.

"Clary!" called Luke.

She turned around to see him beaming at her. She went behind the cash register and hugged him.

"Clare, the paintings you made brought more customers! This," he gestured to the people milling about, "is because of you."

She smiled at him, but it didn't reach her eyes.

"Hey," asked Luke softly. "What's wrong Clare-bear?"

She took a deep breath before talking. "I'll tell you after we close the shop. Not when everyone is around."

Luke nodded, but he was worried about her. She was so strong, but one day, she would break.

It was 5:30. Just 40 or so minutes and then Luke would close the shop and help nurse her wounds. He always got angry when he saw them, because he never understood why anyone would hurt an innocent girl.

Clary headed into Luke's office to find her set of spare clothes. She always kept some clothes there, because she would change into them for her shift. She headed into the bathroom inside the office, and changed into a dark teal shirt, but kept her jacket on. She grabbed a pin that had her name on it, and folded her Taki's uniform.

Clary headed to the cash register, gave Luke a thumbs up, and began to file some books back into their places. Occasionally, someone would ask her where some books were, and she was more than happy to help.

As she was arranging some mangas, someone tapped her shoulder.

"Excuse me," asked a timid boy. "Can you tell me where volume 71 of Naruto is?

Clary smiled, which caused the little boy, who looked like he was 9 or 10, to smile.

"Sure thing kiddo." she replied, eagerly. Clary loved manga, and Luke let her borrow some whenever she wanted. She reached up and grabbed the edition he wanted. he took it from her hands eagerly. After they both spent a couple minutes talking about their favorite Naruto moments, the boy reached his hand out.

"Oh, by the way, I'm Max."

Clary shook his hand. "I'm Clary. It was a pleasure talking to you little guy."

Max smiled up at her, and he took a moment to think. "Clary, are you gonna be here every day?"

Clary chuckled. "Yup. Every day from 5:30 to 6:10."

Max took her by surprise, and hugged her, then rushed off. "Clary, you have to meet my brother! Wait right here."

Clary smiled, and nodded. She resumed arranging the mangas, making sure it would be easier to grab off the shelves. She turned around, and found Max dragging Jace over to her.

Immediately, her smile dropped, and she looked at Max, ignoring Jace's glare.

"Clary, this is Jace my brother!" said Max.

" _Pleasure_ to meet you Clary." smirked Jace.

Clary didn't say anything, then spoke to Max. "Well, I'll see you later Max. I have to finish arranging some books. If you need some help, I'm in the mystery section."

She turned around, leaving Max and Jace on their own. Clary looked at her watch. 6:00. Luke made an announcement, telling the shoppers the store was going to close.

While everybody was making their final purchases, Jace gave Max some money to buy his manga's, and then found Clary in the Mystery section.

She turned around, and found Jace looking at her dead in they eye.

"Look Clary, I'm going to give you a warning. Stay away from Simon. Izzy is actually happy with him, and you coming in the middle isn't gonna cut it." threatened Jace.

For some reason, she felt the need to speak up.

"Why me? What did I ever do to you? You, Izzy and Alec did this to me since 4th grade. I don't get it." Clary's voice was low, almost a whisper.

Jace laughed at her mirthlessly. "I enjoy taking advantage of you. You're everything I'm not. You're ugly, I'm gorgeous. You're school smart, I'm people smart. But of course, there's the case of your father. He did something to me I will never forget. And I would take it out on him, but he never shows his sorry ass. So you get the shit he deserves." Jace's face was angry, dangerously so.

Clary whimpered in fear. She saw emotions running through his eyes, and saw one she thought she would never see coming from him.

Regret.

* * *

After their "talk", Jace and Max left the store, as did the rest of the customers. Luke closed the shop, and the duo went to his office.

Luke did what he did every night. He went to the bathroom, picked up the medical supplies, and walked back to Clary.

As he was arranging them, Clary went to the bathroom to once again change into her last and final uniform. The Auto Shop shirt. Her shift there started at 6:40, and it lasted till 8.

Luke had a good 15 minutes to bandage her up, and when she walked out of the bathroom, she lifted her shirt, holding it up to the bottom of her nonexistent breasts. He sucked in a breath, and was appalled at what he saw.

There were big, splotches of purple, yellows, and red over her stomach. Her ribs were even more prominent than before, and Luke was brought to tears.

"Hey," whispered Clary. "Don't be sad Luke. This isn't something that can be prevented."

"No." he said angrily. "This isn't your fault, none of it is. I don't know why they left you. Jocelyn, she never called, never bothered contacting me. I just..feel so useless. I'm trying to find her again, and when I do Clare, I will make her sorry for leaving."

They sat in silence for the next 15 minutes, both of them dreaming of better lives.

* * *

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	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you so much for the reviews you guys! It means a lot to me, knowing that you guys enjoy this story!**

 **I think the main reason I am writing so much for this story is because I've been thinking about this plot for a LONNNNNNG time, and I'm happy seeing it come together!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

When Clary reached the auto shop, she was beyond exhausted. She was starving, sore, and in pain.

Why was life such a bitch?

She parked her bike in a bike stand, locked it, and headed over to the office inside the shop. She signed her name in a time slot, and made her way to the head mechanic, Raphael.

Raphael was intimidating at first, but he softened up whenever Clary was around. He started seeing her as a younger sister, and was protective of her. All the workers in the shop were protective of Clary.

She was the light in their lives, and she didn't realize it.

Her laugh, her smile, her existence enchanted them. She helped Raphael with his drug problems. She solved the love triangle between the three other mechanics: Jem, Tessa, and Will.

She only told one person other than Luke about her life, and that was Raphael. She trusted Jem, Tessa, and Will, but she didn't want more people pitying her.

"Clary!" yelled Raphael.

He ran up to her, and hugged her gently. "We were worried about you _hermana._ We saw you limping. What gives _mi amor_?"

Clary sighed in his arms, burying her face into the crook of his neck.

When she had told Simon she stopped trusting anybody, that was a partial lie. She stopped trusting anybody AFTER Simon's betrayal. She met Luke and Raphael before the incident, and they were both angry that she was getting abused.

She was lucky. She didn't tell Simon everything. She only showed him a couple bruises, and didn't tell him all the things Valentine did to her. Back when they were friends, she was skeptical about telling him things, her only reason being she had a bad feeling about telling him everything.

It paid off. When he betrayed her, she knew that if she had told him everything, her life would have been even worse.

She pulled out of Raphael's embrace, and he kissed her forehead, the way a brother would to a sister.

They walked into the shop, and Jem picked her up a twirled her around. Clary squealed in delight, and when Jem set her down, she hugged him.

"Hey!", yelled Will. "Where's my hug?"

Clary giggled, and threw herself at Will. He laughed, and Clary pulled herself out of his embrace to hug Tessa. Tessa smiled at her, and then frowned.

"Clare, have you been eating recently? You look and feel...thinner." asked Tessa.

Clary saw Raphael look at her with a worried expression, but Clary shrugged it off.

"Yes Tessa, I promise I'm eating." assured Clary.

Lies. She hated lying to them, but she had to. To protect them. She wanted to trust them, but she wasn't sure. Her secret was a heavy burden, and it was unfair of her to pass the burden along to others. So she kept it in, for now.

Clary cleared her throat. "So, what do you want me to do?"

Raphael steered her to a motorcycle. "We need you to paint this beauty black, and then add some white flames to the sides. Can you do that _hermana_? Also..we need to talk after work. _Comprende?_ "

Clary nodded, and gathered the supplies to paint the motorcycle.

* * *

"Finally!" sighed Clary.

It took her the entire shift to finish painting the motorcycle, and when she finished, Tessa, Will, Jem, and Raphael started at it in awe.

It was beautiful.

Everything Clary painted, drew, sketch, you name it, was gorgeous. She brought her artwork to life.

"Wow," exclaimed Will, "It's beautiful little Red."

Clary smiled at them. Her shift was finally over. She glanced at her watch. 8:00. Valentine wouldn't be home for another hour.

"Well," yawned Tessa. "I think they Will, Jem and I are gonna head off. See you guys tomorrow!"

Once they were gone, Raphael gently dragged Clary to the office, and made her sit in the chair. He then proceeded to heat something up in the microwave.

"Clare, I made your favorite for dinner. Quesadilla. I want you to eat all four of them. Eat up!" said Raphael, taking a chair and scooting closer to Clary.

Clary devoured the quesadilla, and Raphael looked at her sadly.

"Why does he do this to you _mi amor_?" he asked softly.

Clary swallowed the last bite of her quesadilla, and looked up into his eyes.

"I don't know." she asnwered honestly. "He blamed me for my mom and brother leaving. I probably drove them away."

"No." he said viciously. "You didn't drive them away. THey left you, being the bastards they are. You are the most selfless girl I know Clary. If your brother left you, let me be your brother."

Clary smiled up at him. "You are my brother Raphael. Not by blood, but you've been there for me in my darkest times. I look up to you, and I do love you, as a sister loves a brother."

Raphael looked genuinely touched, and kissed the top of her head. He stood up, throwing away her plastic plate. He then helped Clary get up, and he walked her to her bike.

He placed his hand on her cheek, and sighed.

"Be safe ok? I don't know what I would do if something h-happened to-"

Raphael was choking on his words, and she hugged him. He sighed, and then hugged her back. He pulled away and kissed her cheek.

"I worry about you every day _hermana._ Please, if you are in trouble, call me. I know I tell you this every day, but I'm being serious about it."

Clary looked at him and smiled.

"I promise Raph."

* * *

Clary reached her house at 8:30. She took her Taki's uniform out of the bike basket, and went to her room. She locked her door, stripped her clothes, and took another shower to sooth her pain. The clothes she left at Luke's store was washed by Luke himself; even though it was a small chore for Luke, she was grateful he did it.

She put on her ratty pjs, and then gathered her clothes and Valentines and put it in the wash.

She then placed Valentines pre-cooked dinner in the microwave, and started making pancakes in recuperation of tomorrows breakfast. After making sure the house was spick and span, she took the clothes out of the wash and placed it in the dryer. Once that was done she neatly folded the clothes, placing them in their designated places.

She looked at her watch nervously. 9:00. Valentine could be home any minute.

She retreated to her room, and finished some of her homework. She always valued school, because that could be her ticket out of her shitty life. She would get into a good art college, and then leave. That was the plan.

Just as she finished the last sheet of homework, she heard the front door slam shut, and she knew what was coming next.

* * *

 **Review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! So, before reading this chapter, please take a second and REVIEW!**

 **I love reading the reviews I get, and I'm so happy you guys love this story!**

 **So there was a question about a story I had written, Dying Everyday. It is deleted, and I deleted it because when I read it, it sounded really, really stupid. I feel like this has more...future..rather than the other story.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Clary shoved everything into her messenger bag, and mentally prepared herself for the beating she would most likely be receiving.

"CLARISSA!" yelled Valentine, his speech slurred. "Heat my dinner up bitch!"

Clary limped down the stairs as fast as possible. She made sure to avoid his eyes, because that was one of the many rules he had for her.

She was never to talk back to him, look at him, cry, smile, laugh, or show an emotions at all. She was to obey his every command, do his bidding, and most importantly: never tell anybody about his abusive ways.

Clary wanted him to be behind bars, forever. But she needed more proof that he hurt her, other than the physical evidence on her body. She needed video evidence of him hurting her, and then and only then would she be free.

But that was unlikely.

She heated up his dinner, which was one of those cheap, pre-made meals at the grocery store. She saw that Valentine had seated himself at the table, and Clary brought him his meal.

"Clarissa," he snarled. "bring me a beer NOW."

Clary rushed to the crappy refrigerator, and grabbed a beer can. She gave it to Valentine who drained it within seconds. He was drunk, really drunk, even before drinking the beer. His eyes were glazed over, but there was one very clear emotion within his charcoal eyes.

Hate.

* * *

Once Valentine finished his dinner, Clary threw it away, and just as she turned around, he was behind her. The kitchen lights made him appear even more villainous than he already was. His black eyes, looking at her with malice. His almost white hair, turning even whiter. He grabbed her hair, causing Clary to whimper.

"What did I tell you!" yelled Valentine maniacally. "No speaking during your punishment YOU SLUT!

He fisted his hands even deeper into her hair, and lifted her up. Clary's eyes were watering. Pain. So much pain. Through her tear stained eyes, she saw the living room come into view, and she was thrown on the wall. Her right arm took the brunt of the hit and pain coursed through her body.

Valentine laughed. "You are a mistake. You shouldn't be alive. I have half the mind to kill you for all the pain you caused me. But I need you to fulfill my desires."

He took his leg, and kicked her in the ribs with so much force it knocked the wind out of Clary. He did it again. And again.

 _Crack._ She felt heard her rib crack.

She began to see spots, and she knew she was losing consciousness.

"You deserve this. Nobody wants you. You're a whore Clarissa. You belong in the very depths of hell."

She knew it was true.

Clary felt him grab her shirt rougly, and threw her on the table. He proceeded to punch her stomach. Her jaw. Her arms. Everything. Then she felt her pajama pants come down, then her panties.

"This'll teach you a lesson, for making life for those around you harder. To love it to destroy, and to be loved is to be destroyed. Don't forget that you worthless excuse of a human."

Clary heard Valentine take his belt off, and then take his boxers off. Without hesitation, he drove into her so hard, she screamed in pain, earning her a hard slap.

"WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT MAKING NOISE!" he shrieked.

So much pain. Too much pain.

She gave in to it, and she blacked out.

* * *

 _Darkness was all around Clary. She had to get up, but she couldn't move._

 _She saw Jace. Isabelle. Sebastian. Aline. Seelie. Alec. Simon. THey stood around her in a circle, pushing her around._

 _"Nobody cares about you Clary!" yelled Jace._

 _"You are not wanted! Why can't you understand that!" screeched Aline._

 _Simon laughed at her maliciously. "Honestly, I would have sold your secret for free. You aren't worth a single penny Clarissa."_

 _They were closing in on her, and she bumped into someone. She turned around, and Valentine was there, looking at her with nothing but a deep set hatred._

 _"You," he sneered, "are a pathetic excuse of life. Jocelyn wouldn't have left me if it wasn't for you!"_

 _All of them advanced at her. Sebastian grabbed her arms, and she struggled._

Clary opened her eyes, and she was sweating. She blinked a couple times to see where she was. She tried to get up, and was met with waves of pain, making her whimper.

With an excruciating amount of effort, she pulled herself off the coffee table, and assessed her situation.

She was naked from waist down, and she limped over to the spit where Valentine threw her pants and undies. She slowly put them on, and then went back kto assessing her injuries.

Her right arm was numb, and whenever she moved it, the stab of pain brought tears to her eyes. She looked down at her ribs, and knew that at least one of them was fractured. Her left jaw was aching, and her "nether region" were aching.

It took her twenty minutes to get to her room, and she discovered it was 4 in the morning.

She locked the door, and sobbed. She couldn't move, she didn't want to move, but she forced herself to move.

Clary knew what she had to do. Call Raphael. She had done this a couple times before, calling him and showering at his small apartment. He fed her breakfast whenever she came, and he helped nurse her wounds.

This wasn't even the worst beating she had received. Valentine had once branded his initials into her skin. That was the night Simon betrayed her.

She ignored those thoughts, and tried to stop crying, but she couldn't. With shaky hands, she grabbed her phone and called Raphael.

"Who is this?" groaned Raphael.

"Raph," she sobbed, "Please. Pick me up. I-I.."

Clary let herself go, and she broke down.

"Shit! Clare!" yelled Raphael, his voice more awake. "Give me ten minutes, just stay safe till then."

Clary heard the call cut, and then she painfully walked to her closet, grabbing the things she would wear that day. Black skinny jeans and a worn out gray, Star Wars shirt. **(I do not own Star Wars although I wish I did)**

She went to the bathroom, and ate some pain meds, trying to reduce the pain. She grabbed all the thingd she would need for school, and then limped downstairs. Valentine was passed out on the floor, snoring. She quietly took his breakfast out of the fridge, and placed it in the microwave.

After she was sure she had everything, she limped outside, and found Raphael's car. She felt her knees go weak, and she heard him cursing, and heard the car door open and close.

He scooped her up, placed her in the backseat of his car, and took her bike and put it in the back. Luckily, it was small enough to fit there.

He tried not to cry, but when he saw her condition, he let a couple tears slip.

Without a word, he drove to his apartment.

* * *

 **This is the most I have EVER uploaded in a day. Please, please, review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**There's been a couple questions about Jocelyn and Jonathan.**

 **They will be making a GRAND entrance, soon. I promise.**

 **Also, a lot of people asked me to avoid having Clary cry all the time. I agree. I'll try not to make her cry too much. But, I want readers to understand that she's taking all this hate and letting it get to her, and she's so overwhelmed. The only way she can just let go of herself is to unleash her tears.**

 **I went back to the other chapters and had Clary only tear up once or twice. Heheh. I'm rambling lol.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 _Unknown p.o.v._

They both wanted to see her. It had been 10 years since they left, and his mother grieved every day, blaming herself for destroying her little girls life. She was selfish, and she knew it.

Her son was curious. He didn't remember his sister, but he wanted to meet her, save her. From what his mother told him, his father was an abusive man, which is why she fled. But his mother only had two train tickets, and his sister didn't make the cut.

He felt guilty, as did his mother. They parked in front of his mothers friends house, but she wasn't sure he would be there.

If he was, she said there was a low chance he would let them stay with him.

They stepped out of the car, and walked up to the small house. His mother rung the doorbell, and a friendly looking man opened the door.

When the man saw them,his eyes got colder, and he glared at them.

"Jocelyn!" he hissed. "What the hell are you doing here!"

* * *

Raphael carried Clary's unconscious form up the stairs to his apartment. He grabbed the clothes she brought and her messenger bag, and set them on the study table in his room. He gently lowered her onto the bed, and she opened her beautiful, emerald eyes.

"Raphael," Clary said, groggily. "So..much..pain."

She struggled with every word, and Raphael felt himself getting angrier by the minute. How dare that sick bastard do this to Clary?

Raphael went to the bathroom and filled the tub with hot water. He went back to his room to find Clary sitting up, her back resting against the headboard. She glanced at the digital clock on Raphael's nightstand. 5:00. She had till 7:30, giving her plenty of time to fix herself up.

"Clare, what did he do to you." asked Raphael, his eyes burning in anger. He sat next to her, and he wrapped his arms around her.

"Same things he does every day Raph." whispered Clary. "Beating, verbal abuse, rape and repeat. I'm used it it by now. You would think that I would stop crying, or getting upset whenever this stuff happens. But every insult he says, every time I get hateful looks at school, it's just a matter of time before I slip away."

Raphael was shocked. Clary...dying? She couldn't die, she was the only person who made his life worth living. He was addicted to cocaine and weed, and she risked everything and pulled him out of his downward spiral.

And the only thing he could do to help her was feed her and occasionally bring her to his apartment for comfort.

He felt pathetic. Guilty. Horrible.

'Clare," he said softly. "Don't you dare say that. I love you too much too let you d-die. Open you eyes _mi amor._ There are so many people around you grateful for what you do. Remember when you told me how this girl at your school, Maureen, was going to kill herself? Who convinced her to not do it? You did. That's only one of the many people you helped _hermana._ Hell, you helped me through so much. I will never be able to repay you for your help."

Clary sighed, and Raphael pulled his arms away from her.

"Your bath is all set Clary. Do you need help walking to the bathroom?"

"No. Thanks Raph, for everything."

Raphael gently lifted her off the bed, and set her on her feet. She grabbed her clothes, and checked her messenger bag, making sure she had her sketchbook.

He watched as Clary went into the bathroom and locked the door, guilt coursing through him.

If only he could help her, maybe at least help get the proof she needed to throw Valentine in jail.

Maybe he could help...

* * *

Clary stripped her pjs, and lowered herself into the bath, and felt instant relief. The hot water soothed her aching muscles, and she relaxed.

She had a lot of time to get ready. She checked her phone. It was 5:45.

She lowered her head into the bath, relishing the feeling of water covering her.

* * *

It was 6:20 when Clary got out of her bath. She felt better, and her muscles were loosened up. But, she still felt pain in her ribs, and her legs were stiff.

She looked at herself in the mirror, and gasped. There were even bigger splotches of purple and blue covering her body, and there was a fairly large purple bruise on her cheek.

Ugly. Disgusting. That was all she thought when she saw herself.

Raphael always left some ointments and bandages in the bathroom for her. She grabbed some ointments and

Clary put her bra and panties on, then slowly slipped into her skinny jeans on, and then her shirt. She always had some makeup in her messenger bag, just in case Valentine hit her face.

Clary went back to Raphael's room, and grabbed her bag. She found a comb and some primer, concealer, and foundation.

She went back to the bathroom, and combed her hair, leaving it down so the bruises on her neck could be covered. She covered her bruise up, and was proud that she did a good job.

Before Clary went to the kitchen, where Raphael was probably making breakfast, she thought about what Jace told her.

Valentine did something to Jace. But what? Anger coursed through her body. Why the hell was everyone picking on her? Fuck them all, she thought. Especially Jace. The twat was a good for nothing, stuck up prick.

Clary slung her bag over her good shoulder and went to the kitchen, where Raphael had made pancakes.

He turned around and smiled at her, and she smiled back.

Clary couldn't help but feel that today was going to be a good day.

* * *

 **Again, please, review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Enjoy!**

* * *

When it was time for Clary to go to school, Raphael insisted on driving her there, but she was hard headed, and refused to let him. The only thing she let him do was make her lunch, and even that wasn't substantial enough.

Damnit, he thought. Why the hell was she so stubborn?

Clary kissed Raphael on the cheek, and hugged him, thanking him profusely for helping. She then biked to school, parked her bike, locked it, and went to her locker.

"Clary, you bitch!" yelled Isabelle.

Clary was determined to not let them bully her. Her junior year would be different. Fuck the haters. Instead of feeling upset, she would keep a calm demeanor, and ignore what they said.

She already knew whatever they said was true. Valentine said it, they said it. Eventually, it grew on her.

She lifted her head, and saw Isabelle walking towards her, fuming. Clary saw the rest of the squad behind Isabelle, all of them had menacing looks on their faces.

"Clary!" shrieked Isabelle "What the FUCK did you do? Simon broke up with me you HOE! Said some shit like he hated how mean we were to you, and it is ALL YOUR DAMN FAULT!"

Clary was about to say something, when Jace interjected. "I told you to stay away from Izzy and Simon. You never listen, huh?"

By this point, everybody was staring at Clary, and the silence was thick with tension. Clary cleared her throat, and looked at Isabelle straight in the eye.

"Sweetie," mocked Clary. "Sometimes, men want good, caring women as their partners, not cruel, heartless bitches. Now, run along, go find another boy toy to play with."

Then she did the unthinkable.

She looked Jace in the eye, spat at him, and turned around, heading to her first class.

* * *

Clary walked into English, determined to not let Jace get to her. The bell ran, and everybody started to file into the class. She saw Jace sit in front of her, and he turned around and sneered.

Jace looked at her, a malicious glint in his eyes. "I can't believe you had the audacity to spit at me Freaky Fray."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Simon sit down next to her. "Leave her alone _Jonathan_." he sneered. "I broke up with Izzy because she is a horrible person. All of you guys are. I'm ashamed that I joined you guys, and I will forever be ashamed of my cowardice."

Clary simply didn't trust Simon, and she doubted he was sorry. But a small part of her was convinced Simon was telling the truth.

They were interrupted by Mr. Starkweather. "Settle down, settle down. I know it's only the second day of school, but we have to move forward quickly in order to cover all the topics this year. So, we will be reading _Hamlet,_ written by Shakespeare. Hopefully we can finish this play by the end of next week. You guys are going to be put in groups of two for Hamlet. Today, we will read the backstory, and you and your partner will discuss how this relates to the real world."

Mr. Starkweather retrieved a piece of paper from his desk. I will tell you what scenes to read up till, and I expect you guys to actual read it. You will come into class every day and discuss the section you guys read, then write a brief summary. There will be a main project after we finish reading _Hamlet,_ which you guys will work on outside of class, since our class time will be spent dissecting the play."

He cleared his throat before speaking. "You have no say in who gets to be your partner, I do. Here are the pairings. First is Clary Fray and Jace Lightwood..."

Clary stopped listening when he said her name and Jace's.

No way. She couldn't do this. Jace turned around and smirked at her evilly.

Great.

* * *

"So, Clary, how do you think this relates to the real world?" asked Jace.

Clary thought about this for a minute, and then responded. "Well, I-"

"Yadda, yadda, yadda. Look, I'm going to make this clear." said Jace, his tone serious. "I don't want to be your partner, and I don't want you to think I'm going to put effort into this shit. Plus-"

Jace was interrupted by Mr. Starweather, who appeared right behind Jace. "I hope you won't be making Clary do all the work, because if it looks like she did all the work, I will not hesitate failing you in this class."

Jace blanched. Of course he would care, thought Clary bitterly. He only wants good grades so he isn't kicked off the Alicante High football team.

Jace was the star of the football team. He had won the school countless trophies, medal, the works. He was considered to have great potential, but Clary simply didn't care.

Jacce choked out some crappy excuse, and Mr. Starkweather retreated.

"Fine," growled Jace. "My opinion on how it relates is.."

They spent the rest of class discussing, and to Clary's surprise, he wasn't a complete bitch. He was actually nice, and he cracked a few jokes here and there.

Interesting.

* * *

When lunch came around, Clary ate the sandwiches Raphael made for her, and it looked like he packed an extra sandwich for her.

She isolated herself from everyone else during lunch, and she sat at a tree while blasting music on her iPod. While she was eating, she drew the scenery around her.

She felt someone take her earbuds out of her ears, and she looked up to find Simon and Alec looking down at her.

Clary was shocked. She felt rage course through her body, but before she could tell them to piss off, Alec spoke up.

"Look, Clary, both of us are really, truly sorry. I never thought what you did for me would impact my life like it did, and I guess I could never thank you properly. We came here to apologize, but to warn you."

Clary was curious. "Look, what you," she pointed to Simon, "did was unforgivable. How could you stoop that low? As for you Alec, I helped you through so much, something even when your SIBLINGS refused to help. Isabelle and Jace gave me so much shit for helping you come out. And what do you do? You just ditch me after I help."

Simon interrupted Clary's tirade. "I was hurt. Clary, I was so hurt that you turned me down. I couldn't take your rejection because you never said no to me, and I took you for granted. I got so angry, and I wasn't even thinking when I told Jace. I-I didn't realize he would become a monster towards you."

"Clary, we want you to accept our apologies, but the main reason we came here was because of this." Alec showed Clary a letter. It said:

 _Alec,_

 _We have to get back at the bitch for what her dad did to Jace. He just told me. Meet Jace and I at Central Park at 3:20._

 _-Izzy_

Clary narrowed her eye. Again, the mentioning of Valentine doing something to Jace. Alec seemed to realize her confusion, and explained. "Clary, I don't know either. But...I realized what you did for me was valuable. I'm indebted to you. So, I'm going to meet them and record the conversation. I'll send it to you, ok?"

Clary was skeptical, but she swapped numbers with Alec, and after much consideration, she saved Simon's new number to her contacts, seeing as she only had his old number. She never had the heart to delete his old number.

Without a word, Simon and Alec got up and left. She was left alone, pondering upon one question.

Why the hell was everyone being nice to her all of a sudden?

* * *

 **Review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys!**

 **I just wanted to take a moment and thank the people who commented on how much I update. That motivates me to write faster, and upload more chapters.**

 **But, I'd like to thank a particular reader.** WeirdACE. **This reader has been so supportive of this fanfic, and I want to let** WeirdACE **know** **that it's readers like you who make me want to write and upload more.**

 **But for the rest of the readers, you guys are AMAZING! Love you all!**

 **Thank you for the support!**

 **Another thing. Look, before I get any more reviews saying "BUT JACE ISN'T LIKE THIS", let me make something clear.**

 **I said it in the description of this story, but if you didn't read that, I'll tell you right now. This is an A/U fanfic. Jace and Izzy do get better, gradually.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 _Unknown p.o.v_ **(lol y'all probably know who this is hehehe)**

My mother was right. The man refused to talk to us, hell, he was beyond pissed. Mother started crying, but the man, who's name was Luke, shut the door in our faces.

But we HAD to see her. I wanted to be in her life, be the brother I should have been.

We only had one choice left. It was a desperate attempt, but it might work.

Mother said Valentine might still be living in the old house they were in. She didn't want to see Valentine; she wanted to see my sister, Clarissa, or Clary.

So, we hatched a plan. Stake out the old house, and if Clary came by...we had to hope she wouldn't reject us.

It was a long shot, but it was worth it.

* * *

The rest of Clary's day went smoothly, other than the occasional insults from Sebastian and Isabelle. For some reason, Jace barely participated today.

Strange.

Once school ended, I left immediately.

I pedaled back home, and perfromed the usual routine.

Shower. Clean. Cook. Change into uniform.

After checking if the house was all good, I left for Taki's.

* * *

Clary was exhausted. Her shift at Taki's proved to be worse that night, just because Isabelle, Aline and Seelie made it a point to insult every little thing about Clary. Once again, Jace was a no show.

Clary was ecstatic when her shift ended, and went to Luke's. As she stepped inside the shop, she headed over to Luke, and he looked troubled. "Everything ok Luke?" asked Clary, concern lacing her voice.

Luke seemed startled, and it was obvious he was hiding something from her. "Nothings wrong Clare. Now, get to work."

She sighed, slipped on her usual work clothes, and was arranging some books, when the cute little boy from yesterday, Max, came up to her. "Clary!" he said, beaming. "I finished the Naruto I bought! It was amazing!"

Clary smiled at him, and they both discussed manga for a good five minutes when Jace appeared behind Max.

"Max," he said, annoyed. "C'mon we've been here for like half an hour. Let's go."

"Ok," replied Max. He hugged Clary, and then looked up at her. "I'll see you tomorrow, right?"

Clary smiled down at him. "Of course kiddo."

Jace gently steered Max out of the store, and she closed the store. Clary headed to the office, and was prepared the get the truth out of Luke.

"Luke, what's wrong? You seem..off."

"Clary," he sighed, "Look...you know that I hate keeping secrets from you." Luke took a minute to think. "I just...how would you feel if the woman you loved just appeared in your life after a long time?"

"Luke..what happened?"

"Well, she just decided to just show up. You know, when she left me, she didn't even spare a backward glance. Now, she just thought I would take her back willingly. I care, but she broke me."

Clary reached over and hugged Luke, and they sat in silence.

CLary untangled herself from Luke's arms, and smiled at him.

"Don't worry Luke. If she can't see how kind and thoughtful you are, she isn't worth it."

If only she knew who the mystery lady was...

* * *

When Clary finished her shift at the Auto Shop, she felt like she was being watched. She had seen a car following her around for almost the entire job, and she was terrified and angry.

She went to the edge of the road, and turned her bike around. She wanted to know why the fuck the car was following her, and pedaled to the passengers side of the car.

Clary felt time slow down when she saw who were the two people in the car. It was dark out, but even then she could distinguish some features from the people.

There was a boy in the passengers side, his hair almost white. The driver had hair as red as herself, but darker.

No.

No, no, no. This can't be true.

They looked so similar to the pictures Valentine had. The ones he forbid her from looking at, but she did anyways.

She laughed mirthlessly. What a stupid idea, she thought. No fucking way that's mom and Jonathan.

No way. RIght?

* * *

Clary pedaled back home faster. She was smart, and she knew the people in the car didn't think she knew they were following Clary, but she was smarter. They distanced themselves from Clary, and she was angry.

So, she hatched a plan. Clary turned a corner, and then found a clump of bushed, and hid there. She was tiny, so she slipped into the bushed easily. Clary flipped her bike on the side, and waited. It was 8:45, and today, she just didn't give ten fucks about Valentine.

She saw the car come closer, and stop about two yards in front of her.

The people in the car go out, and she held in a breath.

There was now no doubt in her mind that these people were her mother and brother.

* * *

Clary couldn't move. She was frozen.

What the FUCK?

Was her mom the one Luke loved? Why did he never tell her? Thousands of questions flooded her mind, and she was in shock.

She snapped out of her shock when she heard her mom talk.

"Jonathan," said Jocelyn. "Where did she go?"

Jonathan looked somewhat worried. "Dunno mom. Look, I want to talk to her too mom, but isn't this a little over the top? I mean, following her around the whole damn day...kinda creepy."

Clary saw red.

What did they want? Clary knew she couldn't really blame her brother for leaving, hell, he probably had no idea he had a sister till their mom told him.

But she still didn't want to talk to them.

A little voice in the back of her head told her she had to talk to them.

Clary stepped out of her hiding place, and was ready to face her past.

* * *

 **So? What do you think! Review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Woohoo! Finally, 10 chapters! I can't believe this story has 40 reviews, and honestly, I only thought I could get 10. Sorry I haven't updated recently, I had a ton of homework.**

 **I LOVE YOU GUYS SOOO MUCH! We're almost at 50 reviews! HALFWAY TO 100 WOO!**

 **I'm guilty, I love leaving you guys on cliffhangers. MWAHAHA. Also, JACE WILL BE MAKING GRAND APPEARANCES VERY VERY SOON.**

 **If Clace doesn't happen soon, you guys can berate me in the comments. JK JK DON'T DO THAT.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Clary stalked up to her mother and brother. She was angry, very angry. How dare they just try entering her life?

"What the hell do you two want?" she hissed.

Clary heard her mother take a sharp intake of breath, and then start bawling. Her brother was looking at Clary in shock, as if she'd risen from the dead.

"Clary, my baby," cried Jocelyn. "I-I thought you were dead, Val-lentine wa-as s-so-"

She couldn't finish her sentence, due to the fact that she was bawling.

"Clary," whispered Jonathan. "Look, there's an explanation to why-"

"Save it." snapped Clary. "You guys left me, and it was no fucking accident. Look, I don't want you guys in my life, nor will I ever want it. Leave me alone. I have enough problems."

Jonathan was stunned, and he held Jocelyn as she cried. Clary retrieved her bike, and pedaled back home, her thoughts laying on her brother and mom.

* * *

Clary reached her house, and saw that Valentine's care wasn't in the driveway. It was 9:15, and it wasn't like him to come home late. She unlocked the door, and went straight to her room. Clary performed her usual routine, shower, check if the house is clean, do the laundry, put Valentine's dinner in the microwave, then homework.

That was when she heard a rock hit her window.

What the hell?

She set her papers down, and then peeked out of her window. She saw someone she would never expect standing outside.

Isabelle Lightwood.

* * *

Clary opened her window just enough so Isabelle could hear her voice.

"What are you doing here?" she asked coldly.

Clary took a good look at Isabelle, and notice she had been crying.

"C-Clary, look," she started. "I was mean because of you and Simon. You guys were so close, almost like brother and sister. The way he looked at you was more than that, and I hated it, I hated you. I was irrational, and I guess hurting deluded me into thinking I was healing my broken heart. It was always you Clary, he always loved you, and I was angry, upset, and heartbroken. I wanted him because he's different from all the o-other guys pining for me, because he cares about who I am as a person. I-I just couldn't take it when he dumped me."

She took a deep breath. "I'm telling you this because I did take your feelings into consideration. Every insult I threw at you broke my heart, and now, it's shattered. Simon leaving was the last straw. And I just, I can't live with myself knowing I was a bitch to you. So I want to start over with Clary, and I know you aren't going to say yes. But please, I want to give it a shot. I just want to mend this rift between us, the one I caused."

Clary was stunned. Yeah, she knew Isabelle liked Simon, but loved? That was a different story. Isabelle was right, because Clary wanted to say no.

But she needed to start living.

She needed to loosen up, and hey, life's all about second chances.

So Clary made her decision. Isabelle looked like she was telling the truth, and she did seem heartbroken about Simon.

"Ok," whispered Clary, and then in a louder voice, she said, "I want to start over with you too Isabelle."

Isabelle smiled at Clary, while crying. "Please, call me Izzy. Thank you Clary. You don't know how much this means to me. I'll see you at school tomorrow?"

Clary smiled a genuine smile at Isabelle. "Yeah."

* * *

Clary shut the window, and looked at her clock. 9:45. What the hell?

Something was wrong. If Valentine came home five or ten minutes late, she wouldn't be that scared, but he was almost an hour late.

A part of her felt excited, and the other part of her was terrified.

Whenever he came home late, he always beat her up to the point where she wanted to die.

Then she heard it.

 _Thump. Thump. Thump._

It was a steady beat, and it got louder and louder till-

She heard someone yelling, but it was muffled. "Clary! Open up!" Clary was scared shitless. She walked down the stairs slowly, and peeked out of the peephole to see who was there.

Of fucking course.

Jonathan.

* * *

"CLARY!" he yelled, pounding on the door.

She wasn't planning on opening it any time soon, but she was annoyed. What more did he and her mother want? Instead of opening the door, she decided to talk to him through the door.

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT!" she shrieked. "Leave me alone!"

"No!" he persisted. "I want you to hear the story. I get it, you hate mom. But what could I have done Clary! I was 8! I didn't understand much either ya know! Lemme just tell you the story ok!"

Clary was angry at her mom, and she knew she couldn't exactly be mean to her brother. She opened the door slowly, and saw her brother standing there, in all his glory.

Now that she saw him up close, he was handsome. He was a spitting image of their father, his hair gleamed silver in the moonlight, his eyes black, and his face looked as if it was chiseled by the gods themselves.

Damn.

He look mysterious, brooding even. She had an urge to hug him, to say how much she missed having an older brother figure in her life. Raphael didn't count, not technically.

She lead Jonathan to the couch, and he observed the house. "This is pretty shitty Clary. Sorry to be blunt, but, it is."

Clary couldn't help but chuckle. "I know, but there isn't much I can do. I have to pay for everything, so this is the cheapest option."

Jonathan looked at her, pity in his eyes. She hated people who pitied her.

"Can you no?" she snapped. "I hate pity."

Jonathan sighed, and wasted no time in explaining.

"Look, Clary, all this started when I was born. Dad loved me when I was born. He neglected mom, until, when I was 2, then you were born. You really were the light in the family. Dad loved you, mom adored you, and I-I was overjoyed at having a sibling. Then, that was when something in Valentine snapped. He just became..crazy. He started teaching me self-defense, how to use knives, and things I shouldn't have known at that age. It was when our mom tried to stop him from being harsh towards me when he started the abuse. You were too young to understand what was happening, but you were 4, and till you were 6 he beat mom up."

Jonathan looked at me straight in the eye. "You know, the day we left, Jocelyn had grabbed everything when she thought Valentine was at work. He came home surprisingly early, and I remember the look in his eyes. Pure fury. He grabbed at us, and that was all I remembered from that day. I was in a daze, so whatever happens next is mom's version of the story. Apparently, mom grabbed for any of us, and-it happened to be me. Mom said Valentine had you in his hands, and he had a knife out, threatening to kill you if we didn't leave. You probably don't know that because he held the knife behind you, so you couldn't see it. There were only 2 train tickets, mom lost the other one."

Jonathan was visibly upset by this point. "So mom and I left. We went far away from Brooklyn. For a while, we were homeless, but it took us forever, but we finally got the money and bought a tiny apartment. We took a long time to get to you because we were broke. Mom sold her art to anyone who would buy it, and eventually, she became more and more famous. As for me, I only found out about you when I was 13, you must have been 11. But I want you to know, I will set things right. I want to be the person you can look up to, and be a brother."

Clary was frozen in shock.

So many confessions, all in one night.

She thought about it. Again, life's about second chances.

"I think I would like that Jonathan." she whispered.

* * *

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	11. Chapter 11

**HEHEHE I LOVE LEAVING YOU GUYS ON CLIFFHANGERS!**

 **ooppsss ahahah ok sorry I'm rly caffeinated rn**

 **Enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

Valentine didn't come home that night, and he wasn't there in the morning.

What?

Something was up. Clary thought. about the events that happened last night. Isabelle apologized, her brother was back in her life, and her dad was missing.

She remembered Alec telling her Isabelle and Jace were making a plan that involved hurting her. But last night, Isabelle truly was broken. She had to believe Isabelle on this one.

She got up, and got ready for school, opting to wear grey skinny jeans and a t-shirt that said _city chic_. Clary finished the look by throwing a hoodie on, and before she left she put Valentine's breakfast in the microwave, just in case he came back.

As Clary was getting on her bike, Valentine's car pulled up into the driveway. She didn't waste a minute, and she pedaled to school like her life depended on it.

He could hurt her when she came home, but going to school was a different story.

* * *

Isabelle was standing near Clary's locker, and Clary couldn't help but feel some weight being lifted off of her chest. She finally faced one of her bullies, and now, they could hopefully be friends.

Friend. The word was almost foreign to Clary, but she welcomed it.

"Clary!" beamed Izzy. "Hi!"

Clary felt uncomfortable. She wasn't much of a people person. "Erm..hi Isabelle, wh-"

Isabelle sighed exasperatedly. "Please, call me Izzy."

They smiled at each other, and they had some small talk. THey agreed to sit with each other during lunch, and maybe get to know each other more. Once Izzy left, someone stepped in front of Lary.

She looked up and saw Jace.

Fuck.

Clary was annoyed, but to tired to deal with him. "What do you want Jace, I'm going to be late for class."

Jace smirked at her. "Might I remind you we have first period together? Anyways...I just wanted to...talk." Jace became more serious. I wanted to thank you, for being kind to Max. He doesn't really have a lot of people to talk to, and you make him feel special. Thanks for that."

Clary was speechless, so she nodded and rushed off to class, not bothering to look back at Jace.

* * *

English was the same as it usually was, but Jace was like a whole new person. He wasn't a complete asshole to her, and he had some good insight on _Hamlet._ He hadn't insulted her for a while, which Clary found awfully suspicious. Occasionally, Clary would see Simon staring at them from the corner of his eye, and he looked sad.

Clary remembered a book she had read when she was a freshman, _To Kill a Mockingbird._ **(I do not own TKAM and if you haven't read the book it really is amazing! Go read it!")** She remembered a certain line in it, one that the great Atticus Finch had said.

 _"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view...until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."_

Clary thought about it. She imagined herself being Simon. How would she feel if the person she loved for years turned her down? She could see where Simon was coming from, but that was no excuse.

Shew knew it would take time to forgive him, but it wasn't impossible.

* * *

When lunch rolled around, Izzy and Clary got more comfortable with each other. Both of them sat underneath a tree, and the place gave them some privacy to talk. They talked about everything, from their favorite books, movies, types of people, etc. Clary didn't mention her family when Izzy brought it up, and Isabelle respected that she didn't want to talk about it.

But of course, some people never change, and soon enough, Aline, Sebastian, Seelie and Jace were walking towards her. Isabelle told Clary she hated the bitch squad, and she flat out told them she hated them.

"Hey ginger bitch!" shrieked Aline. "I can't believe you think Isabelle is your friend! I mean, nobody would care about some loser who does nothing with her sorry life, am I right?"

Isabelle looked at Aline sharply, her eyes holding hatred within them. "Look her bitch, lets get this straight. You're a good for nothing slut, who's trying to get Jace when he doesn't give a damn about you. Go find another person to fuck with Aline, because I can make your life a living hell. You wouldn't want me to...out the spiel about HB would ya?"

Aline visibly paled when she heard HB. What did that mean?

Aline stalked off, and Sebastian and Seelie followed. For some reason, Jace stayed, and walked towards them.

He cleared his throat. "Isabelle, was that necessary? I mean, she is right. You just became..acquainted.. with Clary, and ditching your real friends is harsh even by your standards. Think about it would ya?"

Clary was embarassed. He was right. She knew her face was probably red, and she tentaively looked at Isabelle.

Izzy's face held nothing but rage. "Listen here Jace Lightwood," she snarled. "Those bitches aren't friends. They used you and me. They wanted to get in your pants, and you let them. You're a man whore Jace, and I for one am sick of it. You have a new girl in your bed every week, and after one night wiith them, you throw them away like they're NOTHING. Y-You just INFURIATE ME! Why do you do this! Why do you just assume Clary is a fake friend or some bullshit! I want to get to know her because in the short time I've REALLY talked to her, I know she's selfless and kind. She doesn't deserve your verbal fucking abuse, and Jace, unless you realize what you've done..I refuse to accept you as a brother."

Jace blinked a couple times, letting her words seep in. He looked deeply hurt for a second, but he covered up his emotions quickly. He looked at Isabelle blankly, and then turned around, walking back to his group.

Clary made note to ask Izzy about HB, but for no, they continued talking, as if nothing had happened.

* * *

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	12. Chapter 12

**hey hey hey! Soooo there's been a LOT of questions.**

 **1.** Where the hell did Valentine go? **  
Answer: Trust me, you will know, ALL IN GOOD TIME HEHEHE**

 **2.** WTF is with Izzy turning all nice?  
 **Answer: So, I don't want to spoil too much of the suspense but I will tell ya this: Whatever she did, the apologizing thing, was REAL. It came from her heart. But there will always be a part of Isabelle that wants to get back at Clary for unknowingly stealing Simon's heart...that's all I'm telling you for that question!**

 **3.** Is Alec good or bad?  
 **Answer: I want to keep the original "Alec crushes on Jace and gets mad at Clary" spiel. How does this answer the question, you may ask. Well, lets just say that his emotions have unintended consequences. *wink wink* Wait, but lemme clarify something. So the whole story behind Alec is he and Magnus have feelings for each other, and they have a relationship that is short because of Alec's lingering feelings for Jace. So, there will be this wholeee segment explaining this shit, I don't wanna ruin the surprise!**

 **I promise that as the story develops, things will get more clear.**

 **Ok? Ok.**

 **TFIOS reference! I'm cheesy asf get over it hehehe.**

 **So DISCLAIMER: This chapter doesn't exactly explain the 3 questions above, well, maybe the 3rd one a little, but u get it. That's all!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Clary walked to her locker feeling uneasy. Something was up. She thought back to what happened that day.

Bullshit. Izzy was full of it. How can someone who bullies you for 5 years just SOMEHOW beg for forgiveness? She was treading carefully from now on, making sure she wouldn't tell Isabelle ANYTHING.

She was vague when talking to her, and all out refused to tell Izzy many things. But Isabelle persisted on certain things.

Izzy thought she was subtle, but she wasn't. Isabelle kept asking Clary about embarrassing things that happened to her, what she was afraid of, etc. She didn't know that Clary was perceptive; years of being a loner taught her some things. Clary could read body language, and she knew how to mask her true emotions. Jace thought he was good at hiding his emotions, but Clary as better.

Clary was suspicious. At first, she was kinda truthful, but when she found out that Isabelle had asked for yet another embarrassing story she started bending the truth more and more.

Isabelle got a text, and judging from Izzy's face, Clary could tell she was reluctant, but also glad. She got up, and left Clary for the last 10 minutes of lunch, mumbling some lame excuse.

Clary still hadn't received any texts from Alec. The meeting must've already happened, if he was telling the truth.

Who was she kidding? Why would she just trust these people?

Her thoughts landed on Luke. Why did he lie? Well, he didn't completely lie, but it still hurt that he kept things from her. She was slightly upset, but she loved Luke. He was the only father figure she had. She would never get mad at him, and she didn't plan on doing it.

Clary saw Magnus waiting at her locker. He never hurt her, and she actually thought he was a good friend.

"Hey Magnus," she said shyly. "What brings you to Freaky Fray's locker?"

Magnus frowned at her joke. "Clary, biscuit, I'm done with this shit. You know, ever since you helped me and Alexander, I appreciated you greatly. I still do, and I intend to for the rest of my life. But there's a reason I came here."

Magnus took a deep breath. "Something's up. When I was on my way to the bathroom during fifth period, Aline, Seelie, and Isabelle were talking in the the girls bathroom. The door was open, and I listened in. I don't regret doing that. I'm going to be blunt. Isabelle lied. She's trying to get to know you, and then use it against you. I know Jace and Isabelle are planning something, and dear Alexander, well, I think he is too."

"I'm not surprised Magnus. I knew something was up. But...what exactly are they going to do?"

"I don't know biscuit. But...I can tell you something. See, before you helped Alec and I get together, hell, before you helped him come out, he was crushing on Jace. If he heard me say this, he would kill me. But, he's deluded Clary, he's angry at you for now fucking reason. You might not know this, but Jace thinks you're intriguing. Nobody knows why he hates you, and frankly, his actions aren't similar to his thoughts. I know because he tells Alec everything, and he told Alec he jut wants to get to know you. Jace is stupid, really, he is. He can't see that Alec longs for Jace, which is why I ended our relationship. But I do know that the person you least expected to trust is trustworthy. The Lightwood children are backstabbing bitches, except Max. Be careful darling."

"Mags, wait, what is the plan. Please, if you know anything, I need to know." Then, in a whisper she said, "Sometimes, all of this shit piles up, and I don't think I can pull through it anymore. I just wa-"

Magnus stopped Clary by pulling her in a fierce hug. "Don't you dare say that," he retorted angrily. "Clary, I care about you so damn much. You can't see anything, can you? This entire school LOVES you. Those bitches are retards, and they lack emotions, so forget them. You've established yourself as a fucking goddess in the eyes of the student body. And we love you, I LOVE YOU. Your very presence comforts me. Please, dear god, never, EVER feel that s-suicide is the way. Please."

He was desperate; Magnus didn't want to lose another person he cared about. Clary was selfless; she didn't know it, but she took the brunt of the verbal abuse thrown by the popular bitches. She really was worshiped. How she didn't know this made Magnus confused, but he didn't ask any questions.

"Clary, I don't know what they are going to do. But don't trust Izzy, Alec or Jace."

Clary felt comforted by Magnus's hug and stayed in his embrace, but she was confused. "Magnus, what are you saying? Jace...likes me? I don't understand."

"Clary, darling. Jace told Alec is you are different. Even after all the shit Jace puts you through, you STILL pull through. He's amazed that you, unlike other girls, care about personality. All the girls who crave Jace think he's hot, and they don't care about him otherwise. But you, you won't take the bullshit. He's notices, and he PINES for you. He wants to conquer you, and for the past 5 years, you've made it clear to him you don't want him. But he is a good person Clary, I know it. He built walls around himself because something tragic happened in his life, and nobody has been successful in breaking the walls down."

Magnus pulled away from Clary, and put his hands on her shoulders. "But you, you didn't even have to talk to him that much. Yet you still broke down a tiny part of his walls. You amaze me, him, and everyone."

"Magnus..." whispered Clary. "What happened to him?"

Magnus chuckled mirthlessly. "You have to ask him that yourself, because nobody knows, except his adoptive parents, Robert and Maryse. But apparently Jace told them not to tell his adoptive siblings. Even Robert and Maryse don't even know the whole story. It's undiscovered territory, and I feel like you will discover it."

* * *

 **Review!**


	13. Chapter 13

**HOLY SHIT 60 and counting REVIEWS! SO CLOSE TO 100 I LOVE U GUYS! I feel like I'm being pushy, but PLEASEEEE PLEASEEE REVIEW!**

 **So, I'll make a deal with y'all. If you guys review a LOT, I will make SURE these chapters are pushed out faster.**

 **But anyways...the plot thickens! This story is like the MAIN focus for me other than school and it's bullshit.**

 **This won't be a normal fanfic k? Jace, Izzy and Alec are MOFO's, and it takes TIMMEEEEE to make them nicer. Sorry if you're disappointed but that's the way the cookie crumbles.**

 **I FOUND A NEW SONG TO OBSESS OVER BTW. Jon Bellion's** All Time Low **IS SO FUCKING AMAZING. LISTEN TO IT U WILL NOT REGRET IT. ALSO I USE SOME LYRICS TO THE SONG IN THIS CHAPTER I DO NOT OWN THE SONG.**

 **Again, I love all my readers. Don't hesitate in asking me questions!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Clary left school, but she was very, VERY late. It was already 4:10 because of her talk with Magnus, and she wanted to vent to someone.

She pulled her iPod put, and plugged her earbuds in, and pedaled back home, listening to _All Time Low_ by Jon Bellion.

 _"I, I've been trying to fix my pride_  
 _But that shit's broken, that shit's broken_  
 _Lie (lie, lie), lie, l-lie, I try to hide_  
 _But now you know it"_

How true, thought Clary, Everything around her was crumbling. Her already shit life was breaking apart, and the only thing holding it together was the love and trust she had for Luke and Raphael.

 _"That I'm at an all time_  
 _Low, low, low, low, low, low, low, low, low_  
 _Low, low, low, low, low, low, low, low, low"_

Clary reached home, and froze when she saw Valentine's car in the driveway.

Fuck, fuck, fuck. Not right now. She couldn't do this.

But she had to be strong. She turned her music off, and stepped inside her house, dropping her bag off in the kitchen. Valentine was sitting at the table, facing her, smiling. He got up, and walked towards her.

"Clarissa, do you know where I was?" he asked through gritted teeth. Uh oh.

He laughed. "Well, _darling_ , I heard a rumor from a good friend that Jocelyn and Jonathan have returned, AND someone across the street told me a boy who looked like Jonathan came into the house."

Without warning, he grabbed her neck in his hands, and held her up while she was flailing.

Valentine roared in anger. "YOU WILL NOT LEAVE! YOU ARE MY PROPERTY! I intend to establish this RIGHT FUCKING NOW."

Clary felt her body crash into something very, very hard. He kicked her around like a soccer ball, and through her blurred eyes, she found herself in the living room. He took her shirt off, rolled her over till her back faced him. Valentine pressed his foot into her back HARD, and she cried out in pain.

"Clarrisa," he said, his voice not showing any emotions. "What did I say about talking during your punishment?"

He stepped onto her back, and jumped. Hard. She heard her ribs crack, and she gave in to the tidal waves of pain.

She cried for her life. For what was left of her.

"Well, Clarissa, YOU ARE MINE. The only way to make you realize this is by writing it on you. Permanently. It's going to say, Property of Valentine M. What do you think? about it?"

He was crazy, completely out of his mind. She could't move, at all.

He lay the cool metal of what she assumed was a knife on her back, and then started carving onto her back. It was over. Clary knew she was going to die. She screamed, but nothing came out.

She felt like her entire back was on fire. Then it actually WAS on fire. He was carving into her back, the burning the words into her skin. Pain. Nothing but pain. Deathw as the easiest option, her only option.

Maybe life wasn't about second chances. People backstab other people, and she chose the wrong person to give her second chance too.

She slipped away into the darkness, and the last things she thought about was her love for Raphael and Luke, and how she wouldn't forgive herself for not being there for them.

* * *

Kaelie looked at the clock. 4:30. She frowned. Clary was never late for her shift. She saw the popular kids from her school walk in, and they sat down. It was obvious that they were looking around the diner for Clary.

Where was she?

* * *

It was 6, and Luke was terrified. Clary was never this late. If something happened to her, he would never forgive himself. He knew Clary trusted someone at her other job, Raphael, and he called him. They had each others number just in case something happened to Clary.

"Luke? What are you calling for? Is everything alright?" asked Raphael, his voice panicked.

"Clary hasn't come to work. I'm worried. Something's wrong Raphael."

"Fuck!" yelled Raphael. "If Valentine did something, _lo mataré y le haré rogar perdón..."_

"Raphael! Slow down, I can't understand you. Look, meet me in front of my store, ok? Hurry!" Luke ended the call, and slunk to the floor, tears rolling down his face slowly.

The only person there for him could be dead or seriously injured.

Luke wiped his tears away, hoping and praying for Clary.

 **(Lo mataré y le haré rogar perdón: I will kill him and make him beg for forgiveness. I looked it up on google translate, which isn't exactly the most trustworthy website, but it's all I got. Sorry if I translated it wrong!)**

* * *

Clary was in a world of darkness, and she panicked. It was dark, and nothing was visible. All of a sudden, there was bright light everywhere. She was in a small room, and she looked for a door, but there was none.

 _Clary!_

Clary heard a loud, booming voice. She instantly knew who it was. Magnus. She couldn't see him, but she definitely heard him.

 _Clarissa Fray, don't you dare die! How many times will I have to tell you that everyone loves you. Please. STAY WITH US._

His voice became more desperate, before it faded away, and this time Luke was talking.

 _Please._ he begged, and he sounded like he was crying. _Clary, you're like my daughter, hell, you ARE. I-I need you so damn much. You pulled me out of my depression. PLEASE! STAY!_

Raphael's voice quickly replaced Luke's.

 _HERMANA NO! Don't do this to me! PLEASE!_ Please...

With that, she heard Raphael's gut wrenching sobs. She cringed, not wanting to hear the people who resided in her heart hurt. Then she started hearing a mix of voices, and she knew it was the people she helped at school.

 _Clary, if only I could tell you how much you helped..._

 _Clary, you helped me live. Please, stay._

 _The bullies hurt you, yet you still stand up for yourself. They never hurt anyone else because you take the impact of their verbal abuse. You're selfless, kind, and have a heart of gold. Don't leave._

Clary heard Mr. Starkweather's voice, and she was surprsied. _Clary, you always helped me after school, but you never realized it helped me get over the loss of my daughter. You presence helped me so much, and you remind me that I need to live for my daughter. Don't leave, please._

Clary was crying. She got into a fetus position, and cried, gut wrenching sobs.

They cared. So damn much. She had to be there to support everyone. All of a sudden, many voices started singing.

 _"Oh, won't you stay with me?_  
 _'Cause you're all I need_  
 _This ain't love it's clear to see_  
 _But darling, stay with me"_

 **(I do not own** Stay With Me **by Sam Smith.)**

Clary opened her eyes, but was faced with darkness.

She closed her eyes, and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

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	14. Chapter 14

**Ok, quick reminder.**

 **I love you guys, so damn much. I started this story, not knowing how it would turn out, and the amount of support is overwhelming.**

 **Shout out** **to the following readers for supporting this story so damn much.**

WeirdACE, vimto474, and reemarie36.

 **I appreciate you guys so, so much. Your support pushes me to write more. Thank you for everything. Seriously.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Luke and Raphael drove to Clary's house, frantic. There were no cars in the driveway, which meant that Valentine probably wasn't home. Raphael parked the car on the side of the street a couple houses down from Clary's just in case. They ran to the front door, and banged on it furiously.

Luke put his ear on the door, attempting to listen for any noises. He heard nothing.

"Raphael, I can't hear anything. Clary's bike isn't here either. She must have gone somewhere. But where could she have gone?"

What they didn't know is that Valentine took the bike and put it in the garage, because he knew someone would be looking for Clary. This time, Valentine wasn't playing around.

Clary lived her life making sure those around her were happy, even if it meant her happiness was depleted. She gave to others, even if they didn't give back.

Valentine lived his life, believing in only one thing.

"To love is to destroy, and that to be loved is to be the one destroyed."

* * *

Clary woke up, and found that she was still in the little room. This was all part of her subconscious. At least, that's what she thought it was. She walked to the walls, pounding on them desperately.

"Help me!" she screamed. "Please!"

Clary slunk down to the floor, frustrated. When would she wake up? Clary had reached a point where she was aware of her dreams and nightmares.

She could feel the pain in her fists from banging on the wall, even though it wasn't real. She knew that if she didn't pull out of dream soon, she might not wake up.

Clary closed her eyes, and when she opened them a second later, Max was standing in front of her. She almost choked on her grief. Clary was so glad to see him. Even though she had known him for a few days, she loved him, because he reminded her of innocence.

Childlike innocence. It was a beautiful thing. They were in their own world, and were carefree. She loved it. Clary hugged him tightly, not hesitating.

"Clary," whispered Max. "Please come back to me. Jace, Izzy, and Alec can't talk to me or connect with me, but you did. And you make me happy. Please, come back with me."

Clary was crying tears of joy. If Clary wasn't close to Luke and Raphael, Max would easily be the center of her world.

"Oh Max," replied Clary, her voice holding only softness for the young boy. "I would do anything for you."

Max beamed up at her, and held her hand. She thought the little room she was confined in had solid walls, but for some reason, she and Max were able to walk through the wall.

Outside the room, it was pitch black. She hated being in the dark, but this time, she wasn't afraid, because Max was with her. Max stopped, and turned around, even though she couldn't see him.

"Clary, wake up. Please."

And just like that, Clary opened her eyes.

But this time, she was in the real world.

* * *

Clary instantly felt waves of pain hit her. Her eyes were tearing up from the pain. She was on the living room floor, face up. With great difficulty, she stood up, and whimpered in pain.

What she saw made her nauseous.

The carpet in the living room was 3/4 soaked in blood. Her blood.

She felt dizzy, and almost collapsed, but regained her balance. How long had it been since she was unconscious? She picked up her bload soaked shirt, and with great perseverance, Clary went to the kitchen, finding her belongings right where she put them.

She picked her phone up, and blanched. Three days. She was out of it for three fucking days.

Angry tears pricked her eyes. How could he do this? Beat her till she was almost dead? There was no way she could go to school or anywhere in her condition. It was 1:00 in the evening, and luckily, it was a Saturday.

She missed three days of school, which meant not being at her jobs.

Shit.

* * *

It took Clary almost half an hour to get up the stairs to her room. She locked the door, and headed to the bathroom.

Clary stripped her clothes, and sucked in a breath when she saw her body. Her stomach looked like someone crushed it. Her rib lines were even more prominent, but she knew some of her ribs were broken, or fractured,

She turned around, and almost fainted. Valentine had been true to his word. He had carved "Property of Valentine M." on her back, and burned them in. Clary was to weak to cry, throw a fit, or do anything.

She turned the shower on, and welcomed the cool water on her burning skin. She stepped out of the shower, and she knew that one more beating from Valentine, and it was all over.

She had to pack up, and luckily, she didn't have to do much to get ready.

With shaking hands, she threw her clothes into a duffel bag, and she put on her ratty pjs. Clary had nothing else important to her, other than her sketchbook, which she already had. She packed what little art supplies she had, and sat on her bed, with her duffel bag and messenger bag.

Clary didn't want to stress Raphael out, because he had helped her so much the other day. So, she decided to call Luke.

He picked up on the first ring.

"Clary!" he asked, hoarsely. "Is it you?"

"Luke," answered Clary, her voice weak. The pain was getting to her. "Luke, come to my house. I can't hold up for long. Hurry."

"Clary," he cried. His voice was choked with emotions. "Wait outside. Don't you dare move baby girl. I'm coming."

Clary ended the call, and took her time going down the stairs. She stepped outside, and looked for her bike. After searching for a couple minutes, she found it, and slowly dragged it outside. She heard a car rolling up, and saw Luke and Raphael getting out.

By this point, the pain was too much. Her arms and legs were heavy, and her back was burning. Her ribs ached, and she heard her heart thudding away, getting slower ever second.

Then she collapsed.

* * *

 **Review!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Honestly, I love Ed Sheeran. The man's a fucking LEGEND. Shape of You is SOOOOOOOO good. If you haven't listened to it DO IT. I promise it's nothing short of exceptional.**

 **Guys, I'm officially crying tears of joy. Seriously. The reviews y'all write bring a hugeee smile to my face. I LOVE U GUYS SOOOOO MUCH.**

 **K, so was a question, which I am prepared to answer.**

 **1.** How am I able to convey the thoughts and feelings of the characters so realistically?  
 **Answer: Ok, so I feel like many TMI fanfic involing Clary getting abused has her trust outsiders (Izzy, Jace, Alec, etc.) far too easily. That's how I can convey each characters feeling: it's my determination to have Clary be an independent girl who can function without friends. Even though she will ALWAYS love Raphael and Luke, they are like family, and even then she doesn't call them 24/7 asking for help. The burden she has is something she alone must face, and so she faces it alone. There might be some bitches along her path, but she will rise up, and be strong.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Clary remembered falling, and she heard two voices that's sounded like Luke and Raphael yelling for her.

She felt a surge on panic. Were they ok? Was she ok?

Where was she?

Clary tried opening her eyes, but it felt like they were sewn shut. After much effort, Clary opened her eyes slowly, and found Luke, Raphael, Jonathan, and her mother standing around her. They were absorbed in conversation, but when they saw her awake, Luke started crying. He and Raphael rushed to her side, and they held her hands.

"Clary," sobbed Luke. "You're alive. Oh god. We thought y-you d-died..."

Raphael looked at her with glazed eyes, and traced her cheek with his thumb. " _Hermana,_ you scared the hell out of us. Don't you dare do that again."

She saw her brother and mother looking away awkwardly. Clary saw Jonathan tense when Raphael said _hermana,_ and it seemed that he knew what it meant.

Clary spoke with great difficulty. "I-I..love you guys. I-I..."

She couldn't talk, due to the pain in her body. Her back was protesting, and her ribs were throbbing in pain. To top it all off, she had a splitting headache.

Clary didn't want to talk in front of her mom and blood brother. As far as she was concerned _Raphael_ was her brother, and _Luke_ was her father.

With some more effort, she voiced her thoughts. "Please...I-I don't want them here right now. Please."

Luke and Raphael looked at each other, nodded, and then turned around. Jocelyn was crying silently, tears rolling down her cheeks. Jonathan's face was blank, his face wiped of emotions. They silently exited the room, and Clary focused her attention on Luke and Raphael.

"Where am I?" she croaked, her voice sounding strained. Raphael ducked his head, and looked at the bed she was on.

"Clary," he whispered, "You're in Luke's house. Going to the hospital was risky, because if they saw you back -" Raphael sucked in a breath. "I called up a very good friend of mine, and he saw your back, put he won't say anything. Trust me on this one _hermana._ He's a doctor, and he did the best he could without the proper equipment."

Clary paled at the thought of someone she didn't know seeing her injuries. Fuck. If the guy who checked her up told anyone, there would be a shit ton of legal problems. She closed her eyes, struggling to contain the waves of pain she felt.

"How long have I been out?"

This time, Luke answered. "You were out for a day. It's Sunday. There's a lot of things we need to do Clary. You can't go back to Valentine. I know you won't like this but...you're going to live with your mom for some time. We need to sort things out, but for now, we know he can't do anything, because she is your parent. Please Clary. Don't refuse her offer. Accept it for Jonathan, and get to know your brother."

Clary took in a shuddering breath, and nodded her head in agreement, much to their surprise.

Luke looked at Raphael nervously, and he looked reluctant to tell her what he was going to say next. "Look Clary, I'll be blunt. Jocelyn and Jonathan were coming to my house for the third time, begging me to house them for the time being. They saw us carrying you, and pushed their way into my house. They saw everything. I'm sorry, so, so sorry. I-"

"Luke," rasped Clary. "Stop. I didn't want them to know about the...abuse, but there's nothing that we can do. It's ok."

Both of them sighed in relief, and they left her alone. She felt exhausted, and let sleep wash over her.

* * *

It took Clary three days to adjust to her new injuries. Valentine was looking for her, and she knew it. He was smart, and he knew Clary was with her mom. He would hunt her down, stopping at nothing to find her.

So far, she did a good job of hiding.

When Clary found out she was on bed rest till she got better, she asked Luke if she could catch up on her school work. Luckily for her, Raphael charmed her school's secretary, and he had all the absent work for her. She went ahead and finished it all, relieved that at least she would be maintaining her grades.

At the moment, she was still sore. Raphael's friend was a good person, but whether he was trustworthy or not was another problem. He sneaked Clary into his office, and took an x-ray. Several of her ribs were fractured, but thankfully, none were broken, although it seemed as if they were.

Clary's back was a whole other story. Her back was swollen and red, and it was...disturbing to look at. The words Valentine carved into her scarred badly, and the letters were completely black.

She had to put ointment on her back, and wrap it up daily. It was painful, but Clary knew she had to suck it up.

* * *

"Luke!" begged Clary. "It's been six days since I've gone to school. They're getting suspicious! I'll be fine, I promise."

Luke pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'll let you go IF Raphael agreed with this idea."

Raphael looked at Clary in the eye, and after a couple seconds, relented. "Fine. But you will call me if something happens, right?"

Clary smiled. "Of course."

* * *

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	16. Chapter 16

**Hey guys! Before you say anything, I'm really sorry for not uploading in the past two days. I've been stressed, had some major tests, and sleepless nights. I'm trying my best to write faster.**

 **HOLLYYYY SHIT. 100+ reviews.**

 **I LOVE U GUYS. I read every single review y'all wrote, and I am over the moon. I'm grateful to have you guys. Seriously.**

 **So there was a question asking why she can't go to the police.**

 **If she did, Valentine would kill her. Simple. He would hunt her down, and eliminate her for good.**

 **He might be drunk half the time, but he's smart. Also, there's going to be a BIG reveal later on what he does when he isn't at home.**

 **I'm building that part up, meaning Valentine IS going to be reported to the police but there needs to be more evidence. In one of my chapters, Raphael talks about helping her, let that be a hint to y'all about what he does.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Clary was nervous. If she went back to school, she would DEFINITELY receive a ton of shit from the popular bitches. She felt betrayed. Isabelle was a good actress, and had a lot of nerve coming to her house and apologizing. But, when Isabelle trashed Jace for being a man whore, it was definitely real. Even that part where Isabelle called Clary kind and selfless seemed real, but in the end, she believed it was an act.

What was real and what was fake?

Clary decided to be friends with Magnus. Sure, she wouldn't tell him anything about her life, but he was kind and supportive. She tried to think of a time where he was mean to her, but couldn't think of one, because he really was a sweetheart.

When she thought she looked decent, she went down to eat breakfast, and saw Luke casting a worried look in her direction. She sighed, and went up to him.

"Hey," whispered Clary, "I'm going to be ok. Promise."

He didn't say anything, and instead, hugged her. He released her, only so she could eat breakfast. Clary ate in silence, and wondered where everyone was.

It was almost like Luke read her mind. "Raphael's at the shop. Your mom and Jonathan are looking for a small apartment so live in for now. Clary, I know it was a big decision, living with your mom for now. I'm sorry Clary, I really am. I should have told you before, but I-"

"Luke, stop. I'm fine. Seriously. If you think I'm mad at you, I would never be mad at you. You're one of the reason I'm still alive Luke. Don't beat yourself up fpr something you had no control over."

He sighed in defeat, and then smiled warily. "Ok. Have a good day at school Clare."

She smiled at him, then left the house, and retrieved her bike, which was hidden in Luke's garage. They hid it there because if Valentine came looking for her, he would recognize her bike in the driveway.

Today she had two main goals. One, ignore the bitches at school. Two, talk to Magnus.

* * *

When she arrived at school, Isabelle was standing near her locker. She looked distressed, but when she saw Clary, she smiled.

"Clary!" she yelled. "You're here! Where were you?"

If she payed more attention, she would have seen the rest of the people in the hallway happy at seeing Clary's face. But she didn't know that. Clary ignored Isabelle, and when she asked what was wrong, Clary looked her dead in the eye.

"You and your bitches. That's what's wrong. Why can't you just leave me the FUCK alone? is that too much to ask? 5 years. That's how long you've done this. Do I look like an idiot? You think that I would be smarter, but apparently you're a good actress. I was stupid to believe you were sorry for what you did. Leave me alone, and stop fucking around with me."

Isabelle was visibly stunned, and surprisingly, looked a little hurt at what Clary said. Without a word, Isabelle ran off in the other direction, leaving Clary at her locker Once she got all her stuff from her locker, she found Jace standing next to her.

"Where were you?" he asked quietly.

"None of your damn business." she snarled.

Jace's eyes became hard, and he gave her a cold stare, but there was a hint of...relief? Without a word, he walked off, and Clary couldn't help but feel confused.

* * *

Clary entered Mr. Starkweather's class a little early, ready to recite her excuse for not being at school for about a week.

"Mr. Starkweather, I'm really sorry. I got a bad case of the flu, but I still did the work. I finished _Hamlet,_ so I can still do the porject."

He smiled. "Of course Clary. I'll fill you in on the project. This project is worth 200 points, so don't slack off. You only have this class to do as much as you need, and then after that, you work on it after school. You will be answering this question: Is Hamlet insane or not? Pick one side, and you and your partner will make a poster and then give a presentation supporting your answer."

Clary felt her heart sink. She would have to be spending more time with Jace, and that too, after school. She smiled feebly at Mr. Starkweather, and heard the bell ring. The rest of the class started filing into the room, and Jace took his seat in front of her. Her turned around, his eyes noticeably softer, and cleared his throat.

'So," he asked awkwardly, "Do you want to discuss the question or?"

Clary sighed, wondering when her torment would end.

* * *

They decided to meet at Jace's house on Saturday. When it was lunch, she found Magnus standing at her locker, and he too looked very distressed. His head was resting on her locker, and he didn't notice Clary walk up behind him.

"Hey," she asked softly, "What's wrong Mags?"

Magnus turned around quickly, and hugged her fiercely. "Oh biscuit, I thought s-something happened. God, I would never forgive myself if-"

"Magnus," she reassured. "Chill. I promise nothing happened. Let's go eat lunch."

He put his arm around her shoulder, and Clary relaxed into his side. Sure, she hadn't talked to him often, but he was very comforting. She liked that, and could get used to it. When they walked into the cafeteria, it seemed that all eyes were on the two of them, and Clary saw Alec looking at them from the corner of her eye. Magnus bought her lunch, even though she protested.

They walked out and went to Clary's usual lunch area.

Magnus cleared his throat. "So, where were you for the past week Clare?"

She hated lying to Magnus, but what could she do? "Long story short, I had the flu. No biggie." Even though Magnus looked skeptical, he believed her. During lunch, they got to know each other better. Magnus told her more about the Lightwood's, but Clary didn't tell him about her father. Instead, she told him about Luke and Raphael, and how kind they were.

Magnus checked her phone to make sure she had his number, and then she gave her's to him.

Everything was going smoothly, until Magnus brought up Simon.

"Clary, he really is sorry. He found out we were talking, and he asked me to tell you that he's sorry. He wants to start over with you. I'm not saying just be his friend right away, but maybe try talking to him Clare."

She knew Magnus was right. Simon was angry when he told Jace, but he lived in regret. But she didn't know if he was worth giving a second chance to.

* * *

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	17. Chapter 17

**Hey guys! I'm so sorry I haven't been uploading much. I've been really, really stressed this week with tests and homework, and I 'm glad you guys understand.**

 **That being said, as a treat for being wonderful human beings, by the end of this week, I'm pushing for reaching 20 chapters.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

When Clary left school that day, she knew something was off. As she pedaled to Luke's, she saw him. The one person she didn't want to see now or forever.

Her father.

Valentine was standing in the middle of her secret path, and he grinned at her. **(K, so basically picture this in your head. This secret path leads from Clary's school to a MAIN road where she then goes to wherever she has to go. So she can still go to Luke's. Just clarifying that lol.)**

"Clarissa," he said. "Do you really think I'm stupid? You think I would just let you run off without being punished? You deserve the pain bitch. You will be sorry for even TRYING to step out of line. We will deal with this at home. You will come with me willingly unless you refuse. Do I need to drag you home?"

She was terrified. No. No, no, no. This can't be happening. Just when life was gradually getting better, he pulled a stunt like this. She was frozen in place, until she saw Valentine slowly walking towards her.

Without hesitation, she turned her bike around and pedaled for her life. She heard his footsteps as he ran after her, but they slowly faded away until the only sound she heard was her heart thumping against her ribs.

She was happy. It might have been a small victory, running away from Valentine, but she was brave enough to do it. She didn't hesitate in taking the other path to Luke's house, her thoughts lying on the Lightwoods.

What was their deal? In her opinion, Jace faked his personality. During their conversation in class, he would occasionally let his real personality slip. He would genuinely smile. But within seconds, he would cover it all up, his eyes becoming hard and cold towards her all over again.

She remembered what Jace had said, that Valentine did something to his family. But what? Even if Valentine did something, why would Jace take it out on her?

Clary realized she was in front of Luke's house, and she opened the door, finding a very stressed out Luke. He saw her, and tackled her in a bear hug.

"Clary," he whispered. "Where were you? God, I was scared."

Clary stepped out of his embrace, but kept her hands on his shoulders. "Luke, you don't have to worry. I'm fine. I just had to work on a project at school. By the way, um..on Saturday I have to go to someone's house for my _Hamlet_ project. So...can I go?"

She hated lying to him. But she couldn't keep dragging people into her battles.

Luke chuckled. "Of course Clare. You know I would do anything for you right? So, well, I wanted to talk to you about your jobs. Clary, you can't work three jobs. I think you should go to Taki's and quit. As for my store and the Auto Shop, it is completely up to you."

She thought about this for a moment. She knew he was right. Three jobs was too much. "Luke, I'll drop my job at Taki's, but I'm keeping my shift at your store and the Auto Shop. It's the least I can do to repay you, and I actually enjoy working there."

Luke smiled at her, and then hugged her lightly. "If you want, you can now. I'll drive you there. Whaddya say kiddo?"

She beamed up at him. "Sounds good."

"Clary, another thing. This is your choice, but Jonathan wanted to spend some time with you...if you're ready. I was thinking maybe you two can spend some time together in Taki's?"

Clary smiled. "I think I would like that. Tell him to meet me there."

* * *

When Clary went through the back door of Taki's, and headed straight into the manager's office. Luckily for her, she quit without any difficulties, and the manager was amicable about the whole thing.

Clary walked out, and waited in the front of the restaurant for Jonathan. She saw her brother standing there looking lost, and headed over to him. She stood behind him, and cleared her throat.

"Jonathan," she smiled. "Let's go inside. I'm starving"

He smiled at her, and opened the door, ushering her inside. Clary spotted the bitches in a booth, and Jace was with them. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw them looking at her, more specifically, her brother.

Unfortunately for Clary, there were only a couple of booths open, and both were near the bitches' booth. With a sigh, she grabbed Jonathan's hand a guided him to a booth. She noticed that Jace had tensed when she grabbed Jonathan's hand, and couldn't help but wonder why.

They opened their menu's, and Clary grinned when she saw her brother's confused face. "The food here has some crazy names. Just tell me what you want, and I'll order for you."

He grimaced. "Ok...I'll have a cheeseburger, fries, and a chocolate milkshake. How about you?"

She thought about what she wanted. Clary never ate at Taki's, because she never wasted her hard earned money. "I'll take the same." Clary turned her head and found Kaelie sitting behind the counter, and beckoned for her to come over. Kaelie rolled her eyes, and took their orders.

It was when Kaelie left that the bitches started their torment. Aline and Seelie came over first, twirling their hair flirtatiously, hoping to catch her brother's attention.

"Clary, what the hell are you doing here?" asked Seelie, her voice rude and snotty. "Shouldn't you being working instead of being a slut? wow, never thought you would be THIS desperate to get a guy."

Jonathan stood up abruptly, his face contorted in anger. He faced Seelie, and Clary saw her take a small step back. "What did you say to my _sister_ bitch?"

Aline and Seelie looked at each other in fear and ran back to their booth. Jonathan sat down, and he looked at Clary with undisguised sadness. "Clary...who are they? I have so many damn questions, I'm sorry. Also, please, call me Jon."

Clary sighed, and her shoulder's slumped forward. She didn't even bother trying to beat around the bush. "Look, Jon, I understand you want to help. I don't feel close enough to you in order to tell you everything. That group over there gives me hell at school."

Clary told him how she hated their guts, but she didn't tell him about the specific insults Jace would use. She told him about the people at the school affected by that group, how she helped them. Jon looked impressed, and his eyes held immense respect for her.

When the food came, Jonathan was shocked at how delicious it was. They made some more small talk, like what was their favorite book, and occasionally they would be more philosophical. Clary learned he was passionate about football, and that he was a freshman in college. He was going to a college that was 10 minutes away from her school.

As they were about to leave, Jace looked up, saw her, and his eyes held a great deal of sadness...and hope?

Clary shook her head. Everything was spiraling out of control, and she didn't know who was telling the truth anymore. Sometimes, she felt like Jace was still the jerk he always was, but there were glimpses of him being a better person.

At that moment, she remembered a quote by one of her favorite authors, J.K. Rowling.

 _"If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals."_

* * *

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	18. Chapter 18

_**"All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream." ~ Edgar Allen Poe**_

 **Hey guys! I hate being pushy, but...pleaseee review! :)**

 **Thanks for all the support! This fanfiction would never have gotten far without all of you guys!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

When Clary and Jon left Taki's, he offered to drive her to Luke's. "So," he asked awkwardly. "Mom found a small apartment. It's not much, and it's smaller than your house, but it will do for now. We're moving in Sunday. You're coming right?"

Clary sighed. "Yup. So...is it close to my school or...?"

Jon filled her in on all the details. Before she knew it, they arrived at Luke's. Jon stepped out of the car, and opened the door for Clary.

He crossed his arms over his chest. "I'll see you Sunday?"

She nodded, but before she could think, she wrapped her arms around his torso, hugging him lightly. He was surprised, and then he pulled her closer to his chest. She felt comforted in his embrace, but stepped out of it.

"I had fun tonight Jon." she whispered. "I know that you just came back into my life, and it's just hard for me, you know? It's going to take time for me to open up completely, but I know that you're a good person. For once, I'm actually...kinda happy."

Jonathan looked at her, and a large grin appeared on his face. "I'm kinda happy too Clary."

* * *

Saturday came by quickly, and Clary biked to the address Jace gave her. When she got there, she almost fell off of her bike.

The Lightwood's lived in a damn mansion. It was huge, and there were flowers of all colors in front. Clary's hand itched for her sketchbook, which she left at Luke's house. She ignored her desire to draw the place and went to the front door and knocked.

Clary heard footsteps, and the door opened, showing Max. He squealed, and hugged her tightly.

"Clary!" yelled Max. "Where were you! I missed you so much!"

She looked down at the youngest Lightwood and smiled genuinely. "I'm sorry Max. I was sick, but I promise I'll be there."

He looked skeptical. "Pinky promise?" She grinned, and they locked pinkies, and Clary ruffled his hair. When she looked up, she was suddenly aware of Jace, Isabelle, Alec and their parents staring at her.

Jace cleared his throat. "Mom, dad, this is Clary. She's my partner for an English project. Clary, this is my mom, Maryse and Dad, Robert."

Clary smiled at them. "It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Lightwood." To her surprise, his parents shared a skeptical look, and then looked at her, their eyes holding annoyance.

Maryse huffed. "Look Jace, we already know about the girls you bring home. You don't have to lie. Just be honest." Clary looked at her in horror, and looked at her feet. Her face burned in embarrassment, and she wanted to say something, but the words were caught in her throat.

Jace growled. "Mom, what the hell? She's here for our _Hamlet_ project for Starkweather's class. Damnit, Alec, Izzy, tell them!"

Robert interrupted. "Maryse, let's go to the kitchen. We can talk there." Maryse glared at Clary, and then grabbed Max and retreated to the kitchen. Robert, Isabelle, and Alec followed shortly after.

Jace sighed. "Clary, I'm really sorry. Look, you don't des-"

Clary rubbed her tired eyes. "It's ok. Let's just finish this project so I can leave." She smiled at him sadly, and he gestured for her to follow him.

* * *

Jace's room was unexpected. It was neat, and everything had it's own place. Clary was confused. "How is your room so..neat?"

He shrugged. "I'm OCD. I hate messy things. So, what's your idea for the project?"

"Well, I think we should start off by deciding whether Hamlet is insane or not. I don't think he is, but that's just my opinion. What about you?"

Jace took a minute to think about this. "I agree. He isn't."

Clary felt slightly uncomfortable being in his room, but that didn't bother her too much. They worked on the project slowly, and made small talk. As the time went by, she felt herself loosening up a little. She found herself cracking jokes here and there, and Jace would laugh along with her.

When they were about two or so hours into the project, Clary demanded they take a break.

"Oh!" she said, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "Let's play some music!" Jace rolled his eyes, but laughed at her eagerness.

"Well, there are speakers and stuff downstairs. Folow me." Jace then grabbed her hand. and pulled her downstairs. Clary tried her best to ignore the sparks she felt when he held her hand, and willed herself to not blush.

When they were downstairs, Clary plugged her iPod in and scrolled through her songs, and selected Shake it Off, by Taylor swift.

 _I stay out too late, got nothing in my brain_  
 _That's what people say, that's what people say_  
 _I go on too many dates, but I can't make them stay_  
 _At least that's what people say, that's what people say_

"C'mon Jace!" yelled Clary. "Dance with me!" Jace scoffed, and was about to sit down when Clary yanked his hands, and held them in hers firmly.

 _But I keep cruising_  
 _Can't stop, won't stop moving_  
 _It's like I got this music in my mind_  
 _Saying it's gonna be alright_

Clary started singing to the song, and Jace joined in.

 _Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play_  
 _And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate_  
 _Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake_  
 _I shake it off, I shake it off_  
 _Heartbreakers gonna break, break, break, break, break_  
 _And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake_  
 _Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake_  
 _I shake it off, I shake it off_

They both knew they looked stupid, but they were carefree and happy, and that was all that mattered in the moment. When the song ended they laughed, and turned around to find Maryse, Isabelle, Alec and Robert gaping at them.

Maryse looked at Clary. "I'm sorry for snapping at you like that dear. You're nothing like what I thought you were. If you two are done, we need to discuss some things with the family ASAP."

Clary smiled at her in understanding, and then nodded. "Well, I think that's my cue to leave. Don't forget to bring the poster to school Jace."

Jace looked at her and smiled. "I won't forget."

* * *

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	19. Chapter 19

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Clary left the Lightwood house, and looked at her phone. 5:00. She called Luke, told him she was fine, and started back to his house. That was when everything went to shit.

Just as she was about to turn the corner of a street, she felt her body being flung off her bike, and she braced herself for the impact. It hit Clary like a ton of bricks, and she felt her lungs give up.

She was lying face up, and it was almost like time had stopped. Then Valentine's face hovered over hers.

"Well Clarissa," he snarled. "You just had to run away huh? Slut. Hoe. BITCH! You will never see the light of day. Ever. We are leaving for GOOD."

And just like that, she was cast into a pit of darkness.

* * *

Luke was frantic. It had been an hour since Clary had called, and she was nowhere to be seen. He had called Raphael and Jonathan to his house, and reluctantly, Jocelyn. They were all sitting in the living room, and were debating whether they should call the police or not. **(the po po! I had to say it ahahah i need to stfu.**

Jonathan was yelling at everyone. "Of fucking course we need to call the police! She could be DEAD for all we know damnit!"

Raphael gave Jon a dirty look. "If we call the police, they will find out about this shit situation, everything will go to shit. Valentine has a good chance of going to jail, but not forever. We need evidence to put him in the slammer forever. As for Jocelyn, she will be charged for abandonment, and maybe even given some jail time. We need to find her ourselves."

Raphael took a deep breath. "Of course, you and Jocelyn will never understand her situation, because you weren't there for 10 fucking years! Then, you just decide to charge in and take control. You two don't deserve to be treated kindly by Luke. _Pendejos._ "

Jonathan tensed. "The FUCK did you call me bitch?"

Luke pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "Both of you can shut up. This isn't helping. I agree with Raphael on one thing though. Raph and I looked over Clary for years, and decisions based on her will be made by US. If you and your mother are arguing against me, get the hell out of my house."

Surpringly, Jocelyn spoke next. "Jonathan, I agree with Luke. We need to make sure you sister is safe. Please, just llet them handle it."

Luke nodded at her, and turned to Raphael. "Well Raph, we need to look everywhere. Their house, the bar, and basically anywhere Valentine goes. Our best chance is to split up. You and Jonathan, then me and Jocelyn. Let's go, we don't have time to waste!"

Everybody agreed with Luke, and no questions were asked.

Something was up, and it wasn't good.

* * *

Clary opened her eyes to a blinding light. She hissed in pain, and when finally adjusted to the light, she found herself strapped to a table. It was at an angle, so she could see around her.

When she looked around, she was horrified. She was in something that looked like a lab, and there were test tubes with solutions in them, each one a different color.

"You're finally awake."

Clary looked around, and saw Valentine in a white lab coat. He was jotting down notes on his clipboard, and then he stood in front of her. He grinned at her sadistically. "Well Clarissa, I'm going to tell you exactly what I'm doing. This is my lab. I came here everyday since you mother and brother left...and the purpose was to find a solution."

Valentine started pacing around her. "When they left, I was broken. I wanted revenge. I threw myself into my work. For the past few years, I have been making solutions that cause pain. Lots and lots of it. Each solution will add onto more pain, but it won't kill. The purpose is to torture the person. I tested this on lab rats for the whole time, until I realized something. I needed a human specimen, not some rats. It dawned upon me: I have you! The horrible, slutty, and disrespectful daughter."

Clary was frozen in fear. He was a lunatic, and he was going to inject some crazy shit into her.

Valenitne chuckled when he saw her expression. "Now, now Clarissa, think of it as a privilege. You are going to be the first human that I've tested on, and you should be damn proud of it. Now, I have ten injections, each one more painful than the next. Let's start with the least painful shall we?We will keep progressing, until we reach the most painful one I've made. I will be injecting 20 ml into you for this solution, but as we go on, the amount gets decreased."

Clary started panicking. He was crazy. Her father, the person who she hated with her entire existence, had managed to terrify her to her wit's end.

"No," she rasped. "Please. N-no. Don't do this."

Valentine laughed maniacally. "Too late fucker. Too late." Clary struggled under her restraints, and screamed. Valentine slapped her _hard_ , and Clary was left dazed from the pain.

So this was it. She was going to die from this crazy, fucked up experiment. She saw him walk to the table, grab a syringe, and fill it up with a liquid slightly thicker than water. Clary put up a fight, and Valentine slapped her yet again, making her dazed. In that moment, she felt the prick of the needle, and the liquid seep into her blood.

Within seconds, her entire body was on fire, and she couldn't help but scream. Tears feel down her face quickly, and her entire body was convulsing in pain.

She didn't know if she would be able to get out of this, and if she did, she knew she would never be the same.

* * *

It was Sunday, and Luke was on the verge of a breakdown. Clary hadn't been seen for 15 hours, and he couldn't help but feel panic course through his veins. At the moment, he had parked his car near the Lightwood's house, and he was on a call with Raphael.

"Raph," he whispered. "Look, she said she was going to the Lightwood's house. It's the only thing that can connect with her disappearance. I know the parents of the Lightwood kids: Robert and Maryse. I'm sure they can tell us something. I'll call you later, I'm going in."

Luke ended the call, and stepped out of his worn out truck. He tentaively stepped up to the porch, and knocked the door. A girl who seemed to be Clary's age opened the door, and Luke cleared his throat. "I'm looking for Robert and Maryse Lightwood. They do live here, correct?"

The girl looked at him skeptically. "Who are you?"

Luke sighed in annoyance. "Tell them Luke's here. They'll know who I am." The girl did as she was told,and Luke heard someone running, and he was met by Maryse Lightwood.

"Luke," she asked, her voice full of surprise. "It's been a while. What brings you here?"

He took in a shuddering breath. "May I come in? There's a lot of things I need to ask. If possible, please bring your entire family. I need as much...evidence...as possible." Maryse looked at him in confusion, and shrugged.

"Jace, Isabelle, Alec and Max!" she yelled. "Come down right now!" Maryse gestured for him to follow her into the living room, and he sat on a sofa. Robert came from the kitchen, saw Luke, and looked shocked. After making some small talk, the Lightwood children came down, and sat in front of him.

Robert cleared his throat. "Kids, this is Luke Garroway, one of our old friends from college. Luke, this is Isabelle, Jace, Alec and Max."

Luke nodded grimly, and then turned his attention to the kids. "Robert, I don't have much time. I need you guys to promise to tell me the truth, because someone's life depends on it."

Everyone looked at him, confused, but they nodded their heads in understanding.

Oh boy. This would take forever to explain.

* * *

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	20. Chapter 20

**Finalllllly...20 chapters. It took a long time to write this stuff, but I'm glad I took the time to do it. So, there was a comment telling me to have Clary tell Jon about Valentine.**

 **I respect this comment, and I agree. It will happen eventually. But again, she's known Jon for a week? She only talked to him twice, and so I won't be having her trust him quickly.**

 **Also...holy damn. SO MANY REVIEWS AHHH I LOVE U GUYS.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Luke shifted in his seat awkwardly. "Look, I need you to tell me when you last saw Clary." Luke looked at the kids, and it dawned on him. The little boy, Max, was a frequent visitor to his store, but he wasn't sure if he had seen the other kids. Luke felt like he had seen Jace before, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

Max also seemed to realize who he was. "Hey, aren't you the nice guy who works at the book store?"

Luke smiled at the boy. He was young, and he wouldn't understand the situation. None of them would. "Yes Max, I do work there. Now, back to Clary. What time did she leave your house?"

Jace cleared his throat. "She left at 5 or close to it. Why do you ask?"

Luke thought about this. He couldn't tell them Clary was missing, but if he did, he could have more people helping. But then again, they would ask why the police weren't involved, and things would get tricky from there.

But he had to tell them. So what if the police knew? They would find a way to get Clary into Jocelyn's custody, and they would find a way to throw Valentine into the slammer forever.

Luke knew that whatever he was going to say next, Mac couldn't be there to hear it. "Maryse, I think Max should go to his room for a bit..." Maryse cocked her head to the side in confusion, but made Max go to his room.

Luke took a deep breath. "She's been missing ever since she left your house. We still haven't found her. We thought that we could look for her, but it hasn't brought any results. The police won't take this seriously, but we're going to ask them to help us look for her. Please...if you know anything about where she might have gone..."

The moment Luke uttered those words, everybody tensed. The silence was so thick, a knife could cut through it. Isabelle and Alec looked guilty, while Jace's face was wiped of emotions.

Maryse broke the silence. "Was she...taken or did she run away?"

Luke became enraged. "She was taken. Clary wouldn't run away, trust me. I have my reasons." After calming himself down, Luke put his head in his hands, but he was still looking at everyone. "We need to find her before it's too late. Please. She's my world, and she was the only person I trusted after Joc- look, this isn't easy for me to say, but Jocelyn left 10 years ago, and I know you guys were under the impression she died. "

Luke began to choke on his words, and his grief started taking over. Maryse and Robert looked at each other in confusion, and looked at Luke with concern in their eyes. Robert spoke first. "Jocelyn Fray? You mean...Valentine's wife? She left? None of us were aware of this, I mean, even Steph- their closest friends didn't know. What's going on Luke?"

Luke noticed that Jace tensed up when Robert was about to say Stephen's name. He took a good look at Jace, and realized it. How could he have been so stupid? Jace Lightwood was Jace Herondale, Stephen and Celine's son. Jace's parents were close to Joceyln, but they always had issues with Valentine. Maryse, Stephen, Celine, Luke, and Jocelyn were all relatively close, but one person destroyed their friendship.

Valentine.

Then it all came back to Luke. There was a murder case case centered around the two people, Stephen and Celine Herondale. But they never found the killer. That is, until Luke remembered something Jocelyn said days before she left.

 ** _Flashback..._**

 _Jocelyn was frantic. She had called Luke, and was spouting gibberish._

 _"Luke!", she cried. "He did something bad, oh god, he-it was in cold blood. I-I could have stopped it, I- oh Celine!"_

 _Luke didn't realize the importance of her words, because he was busy making sure she was alright. Little did he realize, Jocelyn was making plans to leave in a couple days, and he was oblivious to it._

 _When Jocelyn calmed herself down, she spoke to Luke. "Luke, I want you to know that I love you. There are some...things I have to do, and no matter how much time it takes to do them, my love for you is everlasting. Don't forget me."_

 _Before he could say anything, she cut the call, and that was the last time he heard her voice, until now._

 ** _End of Flashback_**

Luke stared at a wall in horror. Valentine killed Stephen and Celine. That explained why their kid was with the Lightwood's, and why he looked so closed off to everyone.

"Holy shit," whispered Luke. He turned to Maryse, who seemed to understand his realization. She nodded curtly before telling her children to go to their rooms, and they went without arguing.

Robert started pacing around the room. "Everyone knew Valentine was crazy, and Jocelyn was to dense to realize it, but she must have knew after they were married. Maryse and I didn't think Valentine killed them until we did some digging. It all made sense: the feuds between Stephen and Valentine and how Celine threatened to report Valentine. Jesus...if Clary lived with Valentine for 10 years then..."

Maryse and Robert looked at Luke in horror. Luke knew lying wouldn't work; they would see right through it. He nodded grimly, and Maryse's hand covered her mouth in shock. "She lived with him for 10 years? Oh god, that poor girl, and I made that accusation yesterday-oh god..."

Robert put his arms around Maryse to comfort her. "Luke, what do we do? Valentine must have taken her for sure...we need to look at all the places that Valentine might go to. It's the only chance we have."

Luke couldn't have agreed more.

* * *

Clary opened her eyes, and instantly regretted it. She whimpered from the pain coursing through her body, and it slowly made it's way into her head, giving her a horrile migraine. Clary tried her best to not cry, but she wanted to sob her heart out.

Then she remembered where she was, and what happened. Valentine took her, injected her with some crazy shit, and then left her to "heal." She felt her stomach growl in hunger, and for a moment, Clary believed she was going to die after he finished experimenting on her. She was usually the one who had hope no matter what, even when everything was going to shit.

But this time, she knew it was over. She lost all the hope she had, and believed nobody would save her.

She looked around the room, and saw Valentine with another syringe. This time, there was a different solution, and it was less thicker than the other solution Valentine put in her.

Valentine turned around, and smiled at her. "Ah, Clarissa, you're awake...again. Now, before I do anything, I wanted to tell you how remarkable the results were of yesterday's experiment. Keep this performance up, and I will be very happy. Now, today, we're doing and 18 ml dose of my next solution, one that induces a little more pain than the first one."

Clary didn't even bother snuggling. She could barely move from what happened yesterday. When she felt the prick of the needle, she felt an immense pressure on her chest, almost like an invisible force was crushing her. She couldn't breath, and felt her eyes burning up. She let out a loud screech, and began sobbing.

Her tears burned her skin, and at that moment, Clary wanted to die. So damn bad.

But death refused to take this good soul away, and once again, Clary slipped into darkness.

* * *

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	21. Chapter 21

**Enjoy!**

* * *

It had been a total of 6 days since Clary had gone missing. The police had been notified, and Luke told them that there was a possibility Valentine took her. Luke refused to talk to anybody, and no matter how hard Jocelyn tried talking to him, he shut her out. Raphael became harsher, and he refused to waste a single minute looking for Clary. Jonathan asked everybody for Clary's whereabouts, and panicked when he thought about losing his sister.

Alicante High was notified that Clary was missing. There were missing person papers set up in the school, and Clary's locker was filled up with flowers and cards. People would stop by her locker every day, hoping the girl with red hair would return to them.

Jace distanced himself from everybody. Whenever Isabelle or Alec tried talking to him, he would tell them to leave him alone. Izzy and Alec were consumed with guilt, and prayed that Clary was still alive. Magnus was upset, and he also helped in finding Clary.

It wasn't the same without her, and everybody knew it.

* * *

Clary was dead, or at least she though she was dead. Valentine had injected her with 5 different solutions, a different one each day. The pain was so extreme she was numb. She thought there was no coming back from this, and in all honesty, she didn't care. At this point, Valentine had left her in a bra and panties, because her clothes were soiled.

She knew Luke and Raphael would never be the same if she died, so whenever she thought about completely succumbing to the pain, she thought about seeing their happy faces one last time.

That made her push for more. Valentine told her there were only 4 more solutions left, and she knew once he finished, he would kill her so she wouldn't talk about the things he did.

She believed nobody would be able to find her, and she was wrong.

* * *

It took Luke three more days to find a lead. Jocelyn had provided him with Valentine's diary, something they found inside his house. Luke read the diary, and was horrified. Valentine was making solutions to torture animals, or even people. At the moment, he was staring at multiple pictures that were hidden inside a discreet flap in the cover of the diary.

The pictures were labeled 1-10, and they were all pictures of rats. When Luke assembled them in order, he was horrified.

The first picture of the rat looked somewhat normal...but as he went down the line, they became increasingly disturbing to look at. The 10th picture scared Luke the most. The rat was dead; he was sure of it. It's eyes were sunk in, the fur was barely there, and the ribs were prominent. It was smaller, almost like it shrunk.

Luke flipped the pictures around, and found descriptions on the back of each. As Luke read them, he discovered there was a clue inside the words. Some letters were more prominent than the others, and when Luke unscrambled them, he got this.

Herondale Manor.

* * *

9 days. Clary watched as Valentine injected the ninth solution into her. This time, Clary gave in. She wanted to see Luke, Raphael, and even Jonathan. But the agony she was experiencing made her feel like she had been run over by twenty cars. She felt like her flesh was being ripped out, and she was burning up. Clary knew she had a dangerously high temperature, and she had large welts all over her body.

She wanted things to be over.

Once Valentine was finished injecting the solution, Clary heard a crashing sound, followed by voices. Clary struggled to keep her her eyes open, and when she could see clearly, she saw Valentine lock the door. He grabbed a syringe, and filled it with the last and final solution. It was only a small amount, 2 ml, but Clary knew she would feel pain she never felt before.

She felt the sting of the needle, the crashing of the door, and liquid entering her, and then finally...darkness.

* * *

When Luke unscrambled the words, he didn't expect Herondale Manor. Nobody went there anymore, not since Celine and Stephen were killed. Then it dawned upon him: of course Valentine would go there...it was deserted, and nobody had gone into that house for years.

Luke had no idea what to expect when he went into the house, hell, he had no idea what the layout was. But it all made sense. Valentine was probably in one of the many rooms, doing god knows what to Clary.

He called the police immediately, and told them the address to the Manor. Luke knew Raphael and Jonathan would want to go with him, but Jocelyn was out of the question. Luke came clean to her, and told her that Valentine was abusive. Even though she already knew that, the guilt consumed her, and she needed time alone.

When the police met with Luke, he pulled an officer aside. "Officer, look, we can't split up that much. One squadron goes to the lower levels, one to the upper levels. We need to be fast, or she could die."

The officer looked at Luke skeptically. "How do you know she's here sir? I mean...this could be a hoax."

Luke growled at him. "I know what I'm doing _sir._ Please. Just...have two squadrons ready to go, ok?" The officer nodded at him, and began making two groups. Luke managed to find Raphael and Jonathan, and they decided to be in the same group.

When they entered the mansion, Luke, Raphael and Jonathan followed the squadron going to the basement. It was completely dark there, but there was one door that had light underneath it.

One officer took out his walkie talkie. "Squad one, we have found the target. I repeat, we have found the target. Please come to the basement for backup."

It seemed the Valentine, or whoever was behind the door, heard them coming, and a loud _click_ sound was heard.

"That bsatrad," growled Raphael. "He won't get away with anything this time!" In a fit of rage, he stormed to the door and kicked it. Jonathan rushed to help him, and within seconds, the door was down.

Luke felt nauseous when he saw what was in the door. Clary was strapped to an angled table, and she looked,,,awful. Her eyes were sunken in, her skin was almost white, there were large welts peppering her skin, and her ribs were extremely prominent.

"Holy mother of fuck.." muttered an officer. Some of the policemen had snapped out of their daze, and shot Valentine down within seconds. Raphael and Jon ran into the room, closely followed by Luke and the other officers.

Luke, Jonathan, and Raphael were next to Clary within seconds.

"Clary!" screamed Raphael. "Please, wake up _hermana._ Please."

In that moment, Clary's eyes opened for a second. She smiled up at them. "You came." Then just like that, her eyes closed, and her breathing slowed down. The next few hours were a blur for Luke. He heard an ambulance, saw Clary being carried onto a stretcher, and Raphael and Jonathan were dragging him back out of the manor.

If she died, he would never be the same again. Nobody would.

* * *

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	22. Chapter 22

**Hey guys! So before I start this chapter, I want to reassure you guys.**

 **CLARY IS NOT GOING TO DIE LOL. She's the main character, and I wouldn't be that cruel to u guys ahah.**

 **So..I made some changes. Remember the note that was written to Alec from Izzy? This is what the note says now:**

 ** _Alec,_**

 ** _We need to figure out what happened to Jace. Meet me at the park at 3:20._**

 ** _-Izzy_**

 **Go back and read that chapter again if you're confused! I think it's chapter 8.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Clary thought she was dead. Her eyes were open, but there was only darkness. She heard voices around her, but it wasn't muffled. In fact, she could hear everything clearly.

Somebody started talking, and she assumed it was a doctor of some sort. "It's definitely abuse. Her back has the evidence. The press has swarmed the entrance. Get them out, or call the cops. Do something about it. Look, we need to talk to the people outside, because they've been here for days. Bring them inside."

Clary heard the scuffling of footsteps, but she still couldn't see anybody.

Then she heard Luke. "Doc, what's wrong?"

The person who was talking before cleared his throat. "I'm going to be blunt. This man, Valentine, injected her with solutions that induce great amounts of pain. Honestly, I don't know how she survived. The DNA tests showed certain amounts of cyanide, leaf blades of rhubarb, Daphne berries, and so much more inside her. She must have gone through excruciating pain. Now...I think we all know she was abused. I mean, her back is enough proof."

The doctor paused, and took in a deep breath. "It's bad. Really, really bad. She's in a coma, and she may never wake up. I don't think her body will ever recover. If she does wake up, she will never be the same again. The trauma she must have gone through is...god I don't even know what to say. She can hear everything you say, so if you want, you guys can talk to her. We'll give you ten minutes."

She heard the door open, and then close. Clary heard a strangled cry come from someone she assumed was Raphael, and then someone's hand clenched hers. "Clary," whispered Raphael. "Please, come back."

Clary heard the heart monitor speed up, because she was happy to see he was there. She heard the people in the room chuckled, and then Raphael cleared his throat. "Clare...there's a lot of people in the room waiting for you to wake up. Jace, Isabelle, Alec, Max, Maryse, Robert, Luke, Jon, and of course me. Please... _hermana_...I should have been there for you. I should have killed that little _mierda_ when I had the chance. I failed you _mi amor._ "

Clary frowned. She wanted to tell him she loved him, and he had nothing to be sorry for. Then someone held her other hand, and she knew it was Luke. "Clary," he sobbed. "I can't live without you. Wake up for me, please. Valentine's dead. You don't have to go through his torture anymore baby girl. Please, wake up."

Clary hated that Luke was crying, and she wanted to hug him. But she couldn't do anything. Clary felt Raphael's hand leave hers, and a new hand held hers. She thought is was Jonathan, and of course, she was right. "Hey sis," he said, his voice full of sorrow. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for 10 years. I promise that if yiu wake up, I will try my damn best to be an amazing brother. Please Clare. Wake up."

All of a sudden, the last person she would expect spoke. Jace. "Can I speak to her...alone? Just for a couple minutes...please?" Clary heard the shuffling of footsteps, and the door open and then close. She heard the squeaking of chairs, and then Jace spoke again.

"Clary," he whispered. "I fucked up. Simple. Look, it..I..damnit where do I start?"

Clary heard Jace take in a shuddering breath. "I'm usually not this open...but, you are asleep, and...maybe you won't hear this. Clary, I never wanted to hurt you. I'm serious. Your dad killed my parents. I never knew why, and I was furious. When I found out you were Valentine's daughter, I wanted revenge. I thought that by hurting you, he would be hurt knowing his daughter was upset. I didn't know you were abused...until Simon told me. He's telling the truth Clary..he only told me because it was a spur of the moment thing."

Jace paused, and surprisingly, he took her hand. "I shouldn't have used it against you. I was angry. I wanted my parents back, and there you were, living with a murderer. I didn't know your mom left 10 years ago. I used the abuse against you because it was my way of releasing the pain and anger. Your dad killed my parents right in front of me you know? I was 7. I traveled through foster homes, some abusive ones, and here I am. Spilling my guts to someone who probably can't even listen to this. But...I was wrong. When we became partners, I realized how horrible I was."

Clary could tell that he was smiling. "You were nothing like I expected. You're kind, beautiful, and sweet. Plus, your music taste isn't half bad. But..I want you to know that, if you do wake up...I want a fresh start. Maybe we can be friends? It's completely up to you. If you don't accept my apology, I get it. Nobody in their right mind would. But then again...you've always been special."

Jace laughed, and then grabbed her other hand. "Also...Isabelle never wrote that note. It was Aline. She knew something happened between my parents and your dad, and she wanted to use it as blackmail. Aline really is a cold hearted bitch. She wanted to know what happened, being the nosy fucker she is, and she believed that she could get the information out of Alec. She planted the note in Alec's locker, and expected him to meet her. He didn't, because he asked Isabelle about it. I assume Magnus told you something about Isabelle telling Aline and Seelie about a plan?"

Jace started rubbing patterns on the back of her hand. "Isabelle lied to them. She wanted to make it seem like they still trusted her, because they were her only friends. She didn't want to lose them, so she lied about luring you into a trap. Magnus heard the lie and told you...but Izzy genuinely likes you Clary. We all do. Alec is really upset too. As for me...you're different than the other girls Clary, because you refuse to take my bullshit. You're also the only person who knows about the foster home abuse and me seeing my parents die."

Clary heard Jace stand up, and then he kissed her forehead. "I hope you can forgive me."

* * *

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	23. Chapter 23

**Hey guys! Glad you're enjoying the fanfic hehe.**

 **So there was a comment asking me to have Clary talk less, and I agree 100%. Trust me when I say she will be closed off for a while, and then she is going to open up slowly :)**

 **Also...I changed the rating to M...just letting ya know :)**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 _Four months later..._

Clary was still surrounded by the darkness. She was used to it. There was nothing she could do. While she was the coma, she felt very isolated. Sure, people would talk to her, and hold her hand, but they would never understand how sad she was.

Depression hit her in waves, and she wanted to stop contact with every body. Jace, Isabelle and Alec came once a week to talk to her about things that happened at school. Luke, Raphael, and Jon came every day, while Jocelyn came once a month.

Clary lived in her nightmares. After her second day of being in the darkness, it turned into something more. She could still feel the pain of the abuse from Valentine. She could feel her body being thrown in the wall, the sting of the needle, and how she wanted to give up.

That was when something happened.

In the darkness, she saw a single beam of light. She ran towards it, and when she did, she could open her eyes.

Clary heard someone gasp. "Doctor! She's awake!" When Clary adjusted her eyes, she saw the face of someone she assumed to be the doctor.

The doctor smiled at her. "Clary, I'm glad that you're awake. I'm Doctor Belcourt, and the first thing I want you to do is drink some water. Can you do that for me?" Clary nodded, and took the cup of water that was offered to her. She asked Clary some more questions, like if she remembered everything and how she was feeling.

When Dr. Belcourt brought up the topic of Clary's family and friends, she tensed. "Don't tell anybody yet. Please. I need some time." she rasped. The doctor didn't look happy about, but she told the nurse to keep visitors from coming for an hour.

Dr. Belcourt took Clary's hand in her own, and gently squeezed it. "Clary, look, I respect your wishes, but an hour is all you get. They've been waiting for you to wake up for 4 months. They deserve to know."

Clary knew this was true, and she nodded her head in agreement. Dr. Belcourt left the room, and gave Clary her privacy.

She was confused, depressed, and upset. Clary had relived her nightmares for four months, and that took a toll on her. She grabbed a hand mirror from the table beside her, and gasped at her reflection. Her emerald eyes were even duller than before, and they were...lifeless. Her skin was paler, and her hair was limp.

She knew that Luke, Raphael, and even Jonathan deserved to know she was awake. She loved Luke and Raphael, but she didn't want their comfort. She didn't want anybody's comfort.

That was when she heard someone yelling outside. "What do you mean we can't see her!" yelled the person, who sounded just like Raphael. That was when the door swung open, and she saw Luke, Raphael, and Jonathan stare at her in disbelief.

Luke ran to her side, and was prepared to hug her, when Clary scooted away from him. He looked heart broken by her reaction, and Clary glanced at Raphael and Jon, noticing that both of them looking at her like she was a piece of glass.

Clary didn't even know she crying until she saw a tear fall onto her hand. Raphael had moved next to her, and tried to hold her hand, but she refused. He looked at her, the pain evident in his eyes. "What happened to you Clare?"

By this point, her body was wracked with sobs. "Don't touch me please, oh god, h-he's taking me away. NO! NO PLEASE!" Clary let out a guttural scream. Luke and Raphael shared a look of horror, and they tried to hold her, but she pushed them away.

"Pl-lease...l-leave. I-I need time." she stuttered. Luke was crying, and he looked like she stabbed him. "Clary, please, we want to help. We waited so long and we-"

"PLEASE!" she screamed. "I need space!" Clary watched as they filed out of the room, and Jonathan looked back at her sadly before closing the door.

* * *

Luke sat in Dr. Belcourt's office, and he was broken when he saw Clary's reaction. Jonathan and Raphael sat next to him, and from the looks of it, Raphael looked broken, will Jon was upset.

Dr. Belcourt shifted in her seat. "I told you guys to wait. She needed space. Look, I hate to be a pessimist, but her situation is delicate. Her emotional state has been ripped to shreds, and therapy won't work. I have a suggestion...but, I don't know if you guys will accept it. Keep in mind, my suggestion will be the most effective option you have."

She rubbed her tired eyes, and looked at them again. "From what you all told me, she's a junior in high school. There's a fantastic mental institution in California, one that has a very high success rate in making patients return to a...normal state. It's called the Institute of California, or the Institute for short, and I want her to go there for the rest of her junior year and half the summer. It's December right now...so...she should go there till August."

Raphael looked livid. "8 months! You want her to go to a state she has never been too for 8 MONTHS?"

Dr. Belcourt glared at Raph. "Yes, 8 months. Look, none of us know her mental condition right now." She turned to look at Luke. "You told me that Clary loved you and Raphael. If she did, why would she push you away? Think about it...she's been in a coma for four months, and she had to think about the events of her torture all alone."

Luke looked down at her desk. "We can't afford it. It's expensive...and, I'm not sure any of us would be willing to just let her go."

Dr. Belcourt cleared her throat. "You don't have to pay for anything. I already called them, and they've never seen a case like Clary's. It's like she's going on a "scholarship", so everything is paid for, including the plane tickets. But there's a catch...you see, the Institute is like boarding school. She goes there alone, and you can't visit her until the Institution allows it."

Luke was having none of it. "You're telling me that after all this bullshit, I would be willing to ship her off to California? Hell no." Jonathan nodded his head in agreement. Just as Dr. Belcourt was about to say something, a nurse walked in, ushering for her to come outside.

When the door closed, Luke closed his eyes, and slunk in his seat. He loved Clary, and he knew that having her get help in California was a good idea. But he almost lost her for good when Valentine took her.

Sometimes, change is inevitable, and Luke would find that out the hard way.

* * *

 **Review!**


	24. Chapter 24

**So...I can already feel this fanfic will have a shit ton of chapters. I'm gonna give you a list of things I plan on incorporating sooner or later.**

 **1\. Clace!  
2\. A new Clary: one that won't take bullshit, one that refused to accept bullshit  
3\. A mysterious boy at the Institute *wink wink* (only to make a certain someone jealous ehehhe it will be explained later)**

 **So, somebody did ask me to have Luke and Raph move closer to her. I respect this comment, and I think it's plausible. But, in order to have her heal she needs to take on this obstacle alone. Luke and Raph won't always be there, and I guess her going to the Institute is like a reminder of that.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **"Don't think that I can explain it**  
 **What can I say, it's complicated"**

 **~ Bad Things by MGK ft. Camilla Cabello**

* * *

It was the week before Christmas, and Clary was nowhere close to being better. If anything, she was even more broken. She couldn't handle the anxiety attacks that made it hard for her to breath, and being in a close proximity with a person made her panic. Nightmares flooded her brain, and she was plagued with grotesque thoughts. Ultimately, it was her decision whether she wanted to go to the Institute or not.

She decided to go.

The press hounded her all the time, making it impossible for her to leave the hospital in peace. Clary was released yesterday, and she was grateful, because she hated the hospital. She was now in Luke's living room, and Luke, Raph, Jon, and Jocelyn were standing around her.

Jocelyn looked at Clary, tears forming in her eyes. "I know I messed up, but I'm trying to be there for you Clary. I'm trying to be your mom. Please give me a chance?"

Clary was tired of being a bitch to her mom. Yes, her mother had borderline shitty reasons to leave her, but after seeing Valentine's true colors, Clary understood. "Yes..mom. I'll call everybody once a week and fill you in on everything. Promise."

Jocelyn smiled at her, and Clary moved her attention to Luke and Raphael. "I'm sorry for being like this. It's just that I-"

Raphael interrupted Clary with a wave of his hand. " _Mi amor,_ please. You helped us in so many ways, and this is one of the small things we can do to help. You're leaving in...three days right?"

Currently, it was Thursday night, and tomorrow would be Clary's last day at Alicante High until senior year. Clary was scared. She was afraid of leaving everything she cared about behind, but she had to.

Clary sighed, and slunk into the sofa. "Yup. I leave on Sunday. I barely have any clothes, so I'm going to the mall after school in Saturday to get some more clothes. I have the money, I swear I do."

Clary was going to the mall to get clothes, but she also needed some alone time. She remembered the money she had saved up all those years. Clary had went back once to get her money, but that was way before Valentine took her. In total, she had about $750 or so dollars, and she finally allowed herself to let loose and spend some of it.

Jon shrugged. "I can drive you there, if you want." Clary smiled at him, and nodded in agreement.

So far, so good.

* * *

It was Friday, and Raphael drove her to school. From the moment she stepped outside of her car, there were whispered surrounding her. She walked to her locker with her head down, and felt the entire hallway stop and stare at her.

When she reached her destination, she gasped. There were cards, flowers, and so much more flooding her locker. Clary gently plucked one of the flowers, and smelled it. She smiled, and began to take every card and place it in her bag.

Then she felt a presence behind her. Panic flooded her body, and she trembled in fear. When she turned around, she saw Alec, Isabelle, Jacce and Simon.

"What do you want?" she whispered. Clary trembled even more, and her body refused to listen to her brain. They all looked upset, except Jace, whose face was blank and emotionless.

Isabelle's eyes teared up. "Clary...we heard you were leaving. Is this because of...us?"

Clary backed up against her locker, and when Isabelle took a step forward, she whimpered. "Please...leave me alone. I don't want this right now. Go."

It was a short and simple command, one that all of them listened to, except Jace. He took a deep breath, and then cleared his throat. "Clary..I know you're leaving for a while. I don't know where, but I know you won't be coming back till senior year. Can I just...can we maybe keep in touch? I really want to start over with you. Please."

His words made Clary remember what he had said at the hospital.

 _"You were nothing like I expected. You're kind, beautiful, and sweet. Plus, your music taste isn't half bad. But..I want you to know that, if you do wake up...I want a fresh start. Maybe we can be friends? It's completely up to you. If you don't accept my apology, I get it. Nobody in their right mind would. But then again...you've always been special."_

Clary's brain screamed at her to push Jace away. But she couldn't. When she heard him in the hospital, she knew he was telling the truth. She could feel it. Maybe he wouldn't be as bad as he seemed?

She nodded her head at him, and smiled. "I would like that. Also...Jace, I heard everything you told me in the hospital. I just wanted you to know that. My number is..." Jace stared at her in shock, but nodded his head. She knew he didn't think she would _actually_ listen to everything he had said.

After exchanging numbers, they walked to class together, and for once, there was no animosity between them.

* * *

When it was lunch, Clary went to her normal spot by the tree. She found Magnus leaning against the tree, and when he saw her he started crying. Once she came close enough to her, he grabbed her and hugged her.

"Clary, oh god," he sobbed. "I-I was terrified, are you ok.." Clary tuned him out, and she thought she would freak out when he hugged her. She felt somewhat comfortable in Magnus's arms, even though she was slightly anxious that he was this close to her.

Clary couldn't concentrate, and she started panicking. She wasn't able to handle the physical contact, so she jumped out of his arms, and walked back a couple steps. She was breathing hard, and the panic started setting in. Once she was able to calm herself down, she saw Magnus looking at her, his cat eyes holding anguish.

Clary took a shuddering breath. "Magnus, I'm sorry, I just c-can't handle contact right now. It's too much for me to handle. I-I"

Magnus interrupted her. "Biscuit, it's ok. I'm sorry. Stop apologizing! You didn't do anything wrong. I just wanted to talk to you. But first, I want to know if you're leaving? Rumor has it that you are..I just wanted to see if it's true."

Clary looked down at her hands. "I am. There's a mental institution there, and it's going to help me...heal. Maybe not entirely, but enough so that I can handle being around people."

Magnus looked crestfallen. "I see. Is there any way you can-"

Clary looked at him sadly. "No. This is the only way. But...if you want to spend some more time with me...you could come shopping with me tomorrow. Only if you want too." Magnus looked happier when she mentioned shopping.

"Of course I'll come with you biscuit."

* * *

 **Review!**


	25. Chapter 25

**Hey guys! So..lately there's been a STORM of reviews and I'm so so so so grateful, BUT I can't read them all. Sorry :( I'm still reading a majroity of them, don't worry.**

 **Alsoooooo the new character HEHHEHE. He's going to be completely new, someone out of my imagination.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Sunday came around faster than expected. Clary enjoyed shopping with Magnus, and he didn't judge her, or ask any questions. She had a good time with him, even though she was more reserved than usual.

She managed to pack all her new clothes into a suitcase, which was a shock to her, because she had bought a lot of stuff.

Clary's flight was at 11:00 am, and right now, it was 7:00 am. She checked her phone, and saw a text from Jace.

 _J: Hey. Have a safe flight Clary. Text me when you get there, k?_

 _C: Thanks Jace, and yes, I'll let you know. Also...um...I wanted to thank you, Isabelle and Alec for visiting me in the hospital. I appreciated it a lot._

She didn't bother checking her phone for a response, and went to take a shower. Clary was instantly relaxed by the hot water, but her body was still Valentine did. When she got out of the shower, she stared at her reflection in the mirror.

Her back still held the hideous words Valentine carved in, except they were slightly faded. Her ribs were prominent, but not as much as it was when she was found. Her eyes, which lost their sparkle 10 years ago, looked a little more lively. She looked tired, but then again, she always was tired.

Her torso, which was once covered in numerous bruises and red scars, was still covered in a couple bruises here and there. The scars faded into tiny white lines, so she didn't have to be afraid of them accidentally showing.

She had decided to wear some of her new clothes, so she put on some black skinny jeans and a blue long sleeved crop top that showed a tiny amount of stomach. She topped her look off with dark blue keds and a green hooded utility jacket.

Magnus forced her to buy some makeup, and Clary reluctantly bought it. She put some mascara on, and decided that was good enough. She looked in the mirror, and gasped.

The girl who stared back was...pretty. She looked and felt good, and decided her confidence came from her new clothing choice. Clary took one last look at her temporary room. She was going to miss Luke's house.

It was 8:00 when Clary went downstairs for breakfast, and she noticed Luke and Raphael in conversation. Luke was facing away from her, so she locked eyes with Raphael, whose eyes widened when he saw her. Luke turned around, confused, and once he saw her, his expression matched Raphael's.

Raph looked her in the eye. "How are you _hermana_? We are leaving in...half an hour. Traffic is crazy at this time, so it's best we leave as fast as possible. Jon and Jocelyn are meeting us at the airport. Eat as much as you can, because you won't be having any good food for a couple hours."

Clary smiled at them. She was going to miss them the most. "Of course. Look, you guys, I-I hate saying goodbye when I'm not really leaving. So..I'll see you later." Her brain told her to not hug them, but her heart told her to hug them, so she did. It took them by surprise, but they were happy that she was able to show some affection.

Luke smiled down at Clary. "Clary..you're like a daughter to me. I hate to see you go for this long, but I know you'll be ok. I love you, don't forget that ok?"

Raph nodded his head. "You are my sister Clary. I-I want you to know I'm here for you always and forever. Luke and I both."

Clary pulled away from the hug because of her anxiety, and placed her hands on Raphael's shoulder's lightly. "Raph, I want you to know that Jon being there doesn't change a thing between us. He might be my brother, but so are you, and don't let him change that. As far as I'm concerned, you and Luke come first."

Luke smiled at Clary sadly. "Always and forever. Never forget that Clary."

* * *

Before she knew it, she was boarding the plane. She was panicking because he had never been on a plane before. Clary tried pushing away the bad thoughts, and focused on her flight.

It was a small, private jet. There were about 10 or so seats inside, and it only permitted people who were being transported to the Institute. The seats were arranged in pairs, and there would be two seats opposite of every pair. When she boarded, there were already five people sitting on the plane.

She looked around, and saw that there were five people on board. Clary chose to ignore them, and sat in an window seat. That was when she felt someone sit next to her.

Clary froze, panic setting over her. All of a sudden, she felt constricted, but reminded herself nothing was going to happen. She turned to her right, and sucked in a breath.

Handsome was an understatement. The boy sitting next to her was breathtakingly beautiful, his hair a chocolate brown, his eyes the color of the ocean. For a second, she thought she was dreaming.

Without even thinking, she blurted out what was on her mind. "You're not related to Sebastian Verlac, are you?"

The mysterious boy chuckled, his eyes changing colors as he moved. It was mesmerizing. "I'm not familiar with a Sebastian. I think you've mistaken me for another chap."

He had a delicious British accent, one that Clary knew could get women to fall at his feet. She wasn't falling for it. "I see. Sorry, I just...thought you looked like him. My mistake."

The boy smiled at her, and his eyes twinkled. "No problem. I'm Oliver Williams." He held his hand out for her to shake, and Clary found herself lightly shaking his hand, and responding.

"I'm Clary. Clary Fray."

* * *

 **Review!**


	26. Chapter 26

**Enjoy!**

* * *

 **"So baby pull me closer in the backseat of your Rover**  
 **That I know you can't afford**

 **Bite that tattoo on your shoulder**  
 **Pull the sheets right off the corner**

 **Of the mattress that you stole**  
 **From your roommate back in Boulder**

 **We ain't ever getting older.."**

* * *

She made small talk to Oliver through the entire flight. He was a gentleman, and he was kind. They gave each other space, knowing none of them would be open to talking about their problems. She learned that the rest of the people on the flight all came from London, or somewhere close to it.

The six hour flight winded Clary. When she reached California, it was about 7:00 pm in New York, which made the time in Cali 4:00. She was in a taxi headed to the Institute. and Oliver was sitting next to her, his gaze on the view outside. She decided to call Luke, and let him know she was alright. He picked up on the first ring.

"Clary!" he said ecstatically. "Are you in Cali?"

Clary smiled at his happiness. "Yes Luke, I'm here in one piece. I just wanted to tell you I'm safe, and that we're almost at the Institute. I have to go know, we're almost here. Tell Raph, Jon and...mom that I'm here."

Luke sighed. "Of course Clare. Be careful." With that, Luke ended the call, and Clary sat in silence with Oliver.

Oliver cleared his throat. "So...who was that?" Clary tucked in a rogue strand of hair, and then fiddled with her fingers.

"He's...basically my father. It's complicated." Oliver nodded understandingly and dropped the topic. When they reached the Institute, Clary was taken aback.

Huge was an understatement. The place was _gigantic._ It looked like church, but from what the pamphlet said, it had been refurbished. There was a large sign in the front saying "The Institute of California".

"Wow," gaped Clary. "This place is gorgeous."

Oliver smiled at her. "That's an understatement."

Clary glanced at Oliver, and then returned her gaze to the Institute. Maybe the Institute wouldn't be so bad.

* * *

 _7 months later..._

Clary sat in her bed sketching furiously. The Institute had done wonders for her. Clary stopped panicking when people came closer to her, and surprisingly, that only took one month to cure.

Her overall condition was better than what it was before. She had nightmares every month, but that was better than having nightmares daily. She had made countless friends, and Clary was glad she chose to come here.

She talked to Jace every day, and ended up telling him _some_ personal things. She was close to him, and she discovered he was actually sweet when his walls were down.

But, she did confide in somebody about her life in New York. Oliver. He also had issues with his father, who was a psychopath. His father messed with his brain, making him believe things that weren't true. When Oliver told his father he was gay, his father laughed at him, thinking it was a joke. When he found out that Oliver was serious, he tried "beating the gay" out of him. One thing led to another and Oliver ended up going to the Institute.

Both of them comforted each other, and they were best friends.

The Institute changed her. Clary was a completely different person. She was snappy, sarcastic, sexy, and cocky. Gone was the skinny and frail girl, and in her place was the confident, athletic, and badass chick.

At the moment, Clary was furious because she only had a month left at the Institute. She would be leaving her friends behind, but a small part of her wanted to see Luke, Raph, Jon, and her mother.

That was a whole other story. Clary and her mom got closer, and they talked daily. Jon, Luke, and Raph talked to her once a week, and Clary was happy when she found out Luke and Jocelyn were repairing their relationship slowly.

Clary took a look at what she had drawn. The person that was imprinted upon her sketchbook was Oliver, his eyes filled with humor. Clary sighed, and leaned back into her bed. She didn't hear the door open, then close, and she definitely didn't see her best friend walking towards her.

Oliver gently pulled her off the bed, and she grinned at him before throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him. He twirled her around lightly before twirling her around, and she let out a squeal of happiness.

"Oliver!" she said happily. "What brings you to my humble abode?" He beamed at her, then ruffled her hair affectionately.

Oliver pulled himself back from their embrace and looked into her eyes. "I have amazing news! The Institute thinks we've made remarkable progress...we can go back to our homes!"

Clary squeezed his cheeks. "Wittle Oli is growing up, aren't ya?" He sighed in annoyance, then grinned at her.

"Hurry up and pack Clare, we don't have much time. The flight is tomorrow!"

* * *

Clary was internally freaking out on the plane. She wondered how everybody back at home would take in her appearance. She was wearing a sleeveless, black crop top and grey skinny jeans. It was going to be cold in New York seeing as it was almost fall, so she had her green hooded utility jacket on. Clary decided to be bold, and had ankle boots on, opposed to some ratty sneakers.

Her makeup was light but mysterious. She had mascara and eyeliner on, making her look in Oliver's words, "hot as hell."

She was leaving Oliver that day. The flight was international, so the first stop was New York...then London. She hated leaving him because Oliver was an amazing friend...more like a brother. When the flight reached New York, Clary composed herself.

"Oliver," she said, her voice catching on his name. "You're like a brother to me. I love you, and you'd better find a boyfriend in London." They hugged for several minutes, and Clary forced herself to not cry.

"Clare, never forget that I'm only a phone call away. Got it?" asked Oliver.

"Got it." answered Clary.

* * *

When she reached Luke's house, it was almost 9:00 pm. Clary brought her luggage to the front, and knocked on the door.

The door opened, showing Luke. When he saw her, his eyes were wide with shock, and they filled with tears immediately. Clary flung herself at him, and he was taken aback by the affection, but hugged her back fiercely.

"Clary!" whispered Luke. "You're home baby girl, you're home."

Someone yelled Luke's name, and then Clary saw her mother walk into view and freeze. Jocelyn ran to Luke and Clary, and joined the hug. Clary untangled herself from the two, and couldn't help but feel like she belonged.

Clary smiled at the duo. "It's been a while, hasn't it? Before you say anything, I need some coffee."

They all laughed, remembering Clary's addiction to black coffee. Jocelyn rushed into the kitchen to prepare the beverage, and Luke stared at Clary. "You look really happy Clare." he whispered.

"That's because I am Luke."

* * *

 **Review!**


	27. Chapter 27

**Hey guys! Holy shit I've been gone forever EEEEEK**

 **Sorry for that and I know I keep saying it but it was because of school jskskskkskk**

 **Now that I'm back, I am somewhat free so I will try my absolute best to upload asap :)**

 **Without further ado...let's get back to the story!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Clary was exhausted, but she knew that Raphael would be ecstatic to see her again. After convincing Luke and Jocelyn, she headed down to the auto shop, knowing Raphael practically lived there.

To her surprise, Jonathan was there too, and they both looked like they were having a...civil conversation? Clary smiled to herself and was content to know the two were getting along.

Their backs were turned, both of them talking about what design a particular bike should have. Clary cleared her throat, and they turned around instantly.

Raphael was the first to react. The second he saw Clary, his eyes lit up and he twirled her around before pulling her in close for a bear hug.

" _Hermana_ ," he sobbed, "You're back. You're really back."

Clary beamed up at him, the boy who was her brother in every way. Then she turned her attention to Jonathan, who was still in shock after seeing her. Clary wriggled out of Raph's grip and hugged Jonathan fiercely, which he reciprocated.

They talked about everything, and Clary was at peace. She once thought she would hate Jonathan forever, but now, she truly saw him as her brother. Clary looked at her phone, and damn, it was already 11:00 pm.

Clary yawned in exhaustion. "Guys, I'm tired, I barely slept on the plane. Drop me off at Luke's?"

The boys smiled at her affectionately, and Jonathan went back into the shop to tidy things up. Raphael ruffled her hair and put his arm around her shoulder, slowly walking them to his car.

"It hasn't been the same around here without you Clare." He smiled at her, but his eyes held sadness. "It hurt all of us to see you go, even though it was the best thing for you...but you're back _mi amor._ "

Clary turned around and faced Raph, and hugged him gently before pulling away. "I missed you guys, but it was the best thing that happened to me. I need to focus on myself, and attempt to heal my mental state. I'm still healing, and I will always be healing, but I feel lighter."

He sighed and kissed her forehead, as he had done thousands of times before. "If you ever need anything, you know what to do Clare. Now, let's get you home, you look exhausted."

Clary giggled, and before she got into the car, she went back inside and found Jonathan, who was almost done organizing numerous designs.

"Jon," she smiled. "Let's go, Raph's in the car already."

With that, the trio went back to Luke's house, carefree and joyous.

* * *

Days had passed, and school was going to start soon. Jace had texted her multiple times, and she didn't want to respond. The more she thought about their friendship, the more she regretted it.

Why _did_ she give Jace a chance to prove he was different?

She was interrupted by the incessant buzzing of her phone. Jace was calling her. Fantastic. Clary decided that talking to him in person was a better idea, and she ignored his call.

Instead, she called Magnus. When she was at the Institute, she stayed in touch with him. He texted her weekly with updates about school, and Clary felt immense relief talking to him. He was comforting, and she loved that they had a solid friendship.

He picked up on the first ring. "Biscuit! How are you? Is everything ok?" He seemed slightly panicked, and Clary rushed to calm him down.

"Magnus, I'm fine! I just wanted to tell you that...I'm back! Do you w-"

She was cut off when Magnus started crying. Clary tried her best to soothe him, but to no avail. "Magnus, meet me at the mall at 1, ok?" With that being said, she cut the call and flopped onto her bed.

It was surreal. Her whole experience was surreal. Clary lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling and contemplating what she would do next. Groaning, she got off her bed, showered, and got ready to meet Magnus.

After telling Luke and Jocelyn where she was going, they glanced at each other in hesitation. Clary smiled at them and hugged Luke, assuring him that she would be fine.

This time, she called Jonathan to drive her to the mall. He happily did so, and when he dropped her off, she saw Magnus. He looked just like he did 8 months ago.

He spotted her, and Clary ran to him. Magnus scooped her up, and hugged her like his life depended on it. He was crying silently, examining her to make sure she was ok.

"Mags," she said softly. "I'm here and I'm better. Let's go shopping, I need new clothes for school."

Magnus laughed at that, and put his arm around the redheaded beauty. "Of course biscuit, anything for you. Now, I was thinking we can start with those fabulous jeans..."

Clary smiled to herself, knowing that Magnus would go off on a tangent with no end. Halfway through their trip, she saw the people she really hoped she wouldn't run into.

Isabelle, Jace and Alec were in front of them and they were sitting at a bench. They were arguing, and it didn't seem friendly.

She stopped walking and dragged Magnus into the nearest store. "Mags, I can't confront them today. Please. Let's go the other way." Clary started panicking, and things never went well when she panicked.

Magnus saw this, and gently put his hands on her face. She looked up at him, and he smiled at her sadly. "You have to talk to them later, but for now, let's go the other way."

Clary sagged in relief, and clutched his hand for support. He guided them out of the store and walked the opposite direction, and it didn't take long for Magnus to start his usual spiel again.

Little did they know, Jace noticed her and Magnus walking away. He looked down at his phone sadly, and sighed.

He felt like he had taken steps forward with Clary, but it all felt like a ruse.

* * *

 **Andddddd that's the next chapter! I hope you all enjoyed it, even though it's slow BUT I promise things will get better. Please leave a review!**


	28. Chapter 28

**Hey guys!**

 **So I feel like a lot of people are going to ask the following questions:**

Is Oliver coming back?  
 **Yes! He is definitely going to visit Clary and I know a lot of people want him to be a constant in her life, but he doesn't fit into my story. What I'm trying to say is, he is one of her closest friends but he's not going to go to school with her and live with her etc.**

Is Clace ever gonna happen?  
 **I really want Clace to happen but with the story I have, I mean, Jace was a DICK. As I said before, I want to incorporate Clace into the story, and I guess I'm still figuring out how? All I'm going to say is this: Clary is going to find someone else, but in the end, she always finds Jace :)**

Will she forgive Simon, Jace, Alec, and the others?  
 **I think that if anyone were to put themselves in Clary's shoes, it would be extremely difficult to forgive someone who caused immense pain and anguish in their lives. Again, I want her to forgive them but it will take some time and I really want this story to maintain its genuineness.**

 **Also, side note! I've been thinking about this a lot and I may do it when I finish the story but I want an alternate ending where Clary dies from her injuries. Now, it sounds kinda iffy BUT it may be better when I write the chapter out?**

 **Tell me what you think about it! ALSO...sorry I've been on hiatus for a lonnnnng time so I have a TON of things to say.**

 **I just want to take the time and thank every reader who has stuck by this story and supported me. It means a lot to see how my readers care about this story and me finishing it. I am grateful for the support and I love you guys!**

 **Anyways, enjoy the next chapter!**

* * *

School started today, and Clary dreaded it with every bone in her body. Ever since Valentine injected her with his concoctions, it had gone viral...which meant every kid in school knew about her story.

She was always a private person, and only confided in people when she knew they were trustworthy. She only talked to Oliver about Valentine two months into living at the Institute, and even then she was racked with nerves.

Clary missed her best friend. Oliver connected with her on a level nobody else could, and she wished he could be by her side, supporting her through her crazy, fucked up life.

She woke up early. It was almost 5:00 am, a habit she had gotten into when she was with Valentine. His frequent beatings meant she would wake up earlier to get ready. Even the Institute couldn't cure this.

With a heavy sigh, she tried to sleep for some more time before the inevitable.

* * *

Clary woke up again at 6:40, and peeled herself off her bed. After showering and making her hair look presentable, she looked at the new clothes she bought with Magnus.

She slipped on the leggings she bought and her blue Hollister **(I don't own Hollister)** hoodie. She rummaged around for socks, and then threw on her somewhat tattered white Adidas **(I also don't own Adidas heheheh)** shoes.

Clary checked her phone: Jace had finally given up texting her, and Oliver had just texted her a few minutes ago. It was almost noon in London, so she decided to call him.

He picked up soon, and hearing his voice soothed her. "Clare!" he said excitedly. "How are you feeling? I know it's crazy to be back at your school but I know you're going to have an amazing day and if any of those bitches sa-"

Clary couldn't help but giggle. He was overprotective of her, even when he wasn't there. "Oli, calm down. I know, they won't give me trouble, not after everything that happened..at least I hope so."

She took a deep, shuddering breath. "I don't want to go because...if they're going to be there, I'll get hit with all those memories and bad thoughts. I don't want to go back to the old me. I'm happy again Oli. I want to stay that way."

Oliver mumbled in agreement. "Clare, I know, believe me, I do. You have to remember that their actions against you were pathetic. They did it because they are disgusting and have no objective in their lives. Don't let them get to you babes, you made so much progress at the Institute, and you can't let them unravel that."

Clary smiled. He always knew how to cheer her up. "I'll try my best Oli, and thanks for everything. I gotta go, breakfast is ready. I'll talk to you later, ok?"

"Of course Clary. I love you, don't ever forget that. I got your back no matter what."

"I love you too Oli. Have fun!"

With that, she cut the call, a little more satisfied with the situation she was in. She had some time to spare, so she put mascara and eyeliner on lightly.

Clary was happy with her appearance, and then proceeded to go downstairs, where Luke and Jocelyn were eating breakfast. She noticed that Joc-her mother tried her very best to start something with Luke again, but it seemed like he was holding himself back.

Luke noticed her first and beamed at her, with her mother doing the same.

"Good morning Clare!" he said joyfully. "I made you eggs, bacon and of course, coffee. Straight black, just the way you like it."

Clary giggled, something she hadn't done in forever, and it melted Luke's heart. She grabbed her plate and inhaled the delicious aroma. "You know me so well," she said adoringly.

She sat at the table and talked to her..parents. It was weird to think that, and it would probably be weirder to say it, but it was true.

It was almost time for school, and she gobbled the rest of her food and put her plate in the sink. She kissed Luke on the cheek, and hesitated, then quickly hugged her mother.

She saw Luke getting up, and then stopped him. "I'm going to bike there, Luke." Clary said nervously. "I think that...I need to maintain independence. I'll be fine, don't worry about me, ok?"

He looked at her with worry etched all over his face. "Be careful ok? You just got back and I can't lose you again."

She smiled at him. "I promise."

* * *

Clary knew going back to school would be painfully awkward, but she didn't expect _how_ painful it would be.

The second she walked into the hallway, everybody froze and stared at her. Whispers surrounded her, both good and bad. She shoved her earbuds in, cranked the volume up, and walked to the office with her head down.

When she reached the office, Amatis, the secretary, saw her and sighed in relief. She hurriedly got up up and hugged Clary tightly.

"Clary," she whispered. "You have no idea how badly you scared us. I'm glad you're back sweetie. Tell me if anybody bothers you, ok?"

Clary smiled tentatively at her. "I will, don't worry. I'm glad to be back too."

That was a half truth. But Amatis didn't need to know that.

Clary gave her one last hug and got her schedule. While she was recovering in the Institute, they did make sure to get her up to speed with the curriculum for senior year, but she was still hesitant.

She had yet to run into "the bitches", which confused the hell out of her. They always knew where she was, no matter what.

Clary exited the office and went to her locker, and froze. They were all there.

Jace, Isabelle, Alec, and Simon were waiting for her.

This time, she couldn't escape.

Clary walked to her locker quietly, hoping they wouldn't notice. But of course, they did. The second they saw her approaching, the group shifted their focus to the redhead.

They noticed that she was healthier and vibrant. Simon ached to hug her, because in his eyes, his best friend was hurting and he wanted to comfort her. Jace on the other hand...was upset that she was ignoring him.

She cleared her throat and steeled her eyes. "What do you guys want?"

Clary noticed they all gave her space, except Jace, who was too close for comfort. "Clary," whispered Isabelle. "We want to talk to you. And before you do or say anything, please, hear us out."

Alec nodded his head in agreement. "We can't explain what we want to say because there are no words to describe what we did. We did a digusting thing with a baseless claim."

Simon interjected. "Everything we did was wrong, on so many levels." he begged. "You never deserved our abuse, any of it. I know we've asked you a thousand times but please, give us a chance. We changed Clary, please."

Jace stood there silently, and Clary noticed the other begging him silently to say something. He cleared his throat hesitantly, and said quietly, "We'll prove that we're better. But it's up to you. I know it's hard but-"

Clary cut him off and glared at them. Newfound anger coursed through her veins. " _You_ know it's hard?" she hissed. "All the time you guys bullied and belittled me, I wanted to die. And you think that me giving you another chance will make me happy?"

She leaned against her locker, and sighed. "You get a chance, but honestly, what difference will it make? I know who you really are. You're just four people who have no concern for others you see beneath you."

Clary took a deep breath again, the confrontation making her more nervous than ever. "Jace, can I talk to you privately?"

The others left without another word, and Jace looked at her with hope in his eyes. That itself made her angrier.

"When you told me that you wanted me to forgive you, and that you wanted another chance, I wanted to give it to you. I thought that if I made amends with the person who had caused me so much pain, it could heal my wounds."

He took a step forward, and Clary took two back. He froze, unsure of what to do. "Jace, I will never forget what you did to me. But what you're trying to do now...I don't trust you or them. You texting me every day isn't going to solve that problem. When I gave you that chance, I wasn't in the right state of mind. I'm still not, but it's clear to me that there needs to be boundaries."

She looked at him unflinchingly, and he did the same. "I'm not your good friend, no matter how much we talked when I left. Seeing you hurts me, because all I think is you throwing my dad's abuse in my face like it was a joke."

Jace flinched at that, and his face fell, the first time he actually showed emotion to her. But she continued, knowing that she had to say what she was going to say next.

"This thing that you want between us, to me, you want it to be more intimate than a friendship. I am not comfortable with that. Please...if you want something even close to a friendship, you need to give me space and change."

Clary knew what she said was hurting him, but it was the truth. His face crumpled a bit, and he sighed. "I know Clary, I know. I won't deny anything you said because it's true. I'll do anything to even be friends with you, and I have changed. I'll prove it to you, I swear."

He looked at her wearily, but managed a small smile. "I don't regret saying any of what I said and did at the hospital. You're one of a kind Clary."

With that, he turned around and left, leaving Clary in shock.

* * *

 **So? How'd you like that? Review please and let me know :)**


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